


Wild Thing; You Make My Heart Sing

by NessieFromSpace



Category: Borderlands, Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom, rhack
Genre: And not just cause they're animals and fluffy, Animal shape-shifting au, But I didn't know if this needed an Archives warning cause it's Vasquez, Confused Rhys, Did I mention it's a, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Good dad! Jack, I'm going to put this out there, It's a romantic adventure Rhys gets pulled into, Jack is confident in his love with Rhys, M/M, PA Rhys, Prepare fo adorableness, Slightly needy Jack, Slow Burn, Vasquez dies, Very Very Slow Burn, okay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 03:45:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 37,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9860960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NessieFromSpace/pseuds/NessieFromSpace
Summary: In a world where everyone shifts into animals, one man gains the affection of his CEO. Prepare for confusion! Prepare for cuteness! Prepare for action! Prepare for- "Jack, what the fuck!?!?!?" In an all new fic where face-palming is the norm, get ready for this action packed, romantic mess!





	1. Barking Up The Wrong Statue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! And welcome to my new series! I've been working on this for a while and I hope you like it!

The meeting was taking forever and Handsome Jack didn’t like being bored. And in a world where everyone shape-shifted to their soul animal, he’d gotten good at guessing what he thought each employee was. The jittery one talking was probably a deer, they were always so easily scared, especially when their boss was a wolf. An awesome, huge, grey wolf that was better than other boring wolves. Deer shifters could always sense danger and whenever Jack flashed a grin, the speaker always began to sweat. Too easy.

He barred his teeth now, annoyed. The man talking began to stammer, but Jack just didn’t care. He stood and left without any word to anyone. He didn’t have to deal with this and didn’t want to. He made a show of letting the door slam behind him. Smirking when other employees jumped and eyed him cautiously. He stalked along the hall to the elevator. He jammed the button hard and waited, pissed that he even had to wait for the elevators. He was Handsome Freaking Jack, he didn’t have to wait for stupid things like this.

The doors opened and he stepped in, next to another man about his height. Jack waited for a beat, waiting for the man to run from the elevator, terrified at who it was. But the man didn’t. His focus was solely on his ECHO, reading a document. This was a strange, new event. Everyone was always on edge, waiting to make a mad dash away from Jack. He loved the fear he instilled. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this man.

Jack looked at him as the doors closed. He was lanky, all legs- damn, was he all legs. And his ass, man that was perfect, hugging it tightly. But Jack was distracted by the pattern of his suit. What the heck was he wearing? A blue suit that was stripped on one side and not on the other and his pants were patterned on the opposite side? And why those shoes? Scag-skin. Jack wrinkled his nose. But his eyes were drawn to the tattoos peeking out of that horrible shirt and it made him curious in a very unprofessional way. Not that Jack was really worried about being unprofessional, that was part of the fun being CEO. He could sleep with whomever he wanted.

The expression on the man’s face was concentrated, his brows furrowed. The elevator stopped and a group almost walked in, but when they saw it was Handsome Jack, they backed away and he smirked, closing the doors with the press of a button. The ride was pretty much like this. He was ignored by the good-looking idiot next to him and it pissed Jack off thoroughly. He did not like being ignored.

What animal was this shape-shifter? Obviously, a dumb one. And yet, he had an eye- port and a robotic arm. Yeah, they were older models, but that was impressive. The surgery was extensive and irreversible.

Suddenly, the man’s expression turned angry. He scrolled quickly through whatever he was reading. “Wh… What the hell?” The man mumbled to himself. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me! You can’t mix different nanobots like that without first testing it! This is why I should have been head of the robotics…”

The elevator opened and for the first time, the man looked up. But not at Jack. He looked at the level indicator and stalked out. Curious, and for the first time in a while not bored, Jack followed him on an impulse. He kept a distance behind the man, watching him closely. They were in a main area where a statue of Jack stood. The man didn’t even stop to marvel it. What the hell?

Then, the man stopped dead in his tracks causing Jack to almost ran into him. He stood still, waiting. But the man was looking across the empty floor. He growled, low, deep. And then he ran to Jack’s statue and jumped incredibly fast and high, landing square on Jack’s shoulders and hiding behind it.

Stunned, Handsome Jack stared after him, frowning. The guy ignored him twice, and now he was using his statue to hide behind? Who was this kid?

“Rhys,” another man said. He had black hair and was dressed to the nines. His voice was familiar. Jack had heard that annoying, arrogant voice before. He sat down at a table and opened his ECHO, hoping he could hide behind that.

“Rhys, I know you’re around here, I can _smell_ you.”

Jack shivered, officially creeped out.

“Rhys,” the man called out. “You haven’t been returning my calls. I can have you fired quicker than Handsome Jack could kill a man. Or worse. Keep that in mind the next time I ask you out.” And then the man stalked away.

Jack frowned, even more pissed off at that guy then Rhys, who he guessed was the man ignoring Jack. Jack didn’t mind if employees killed each other to gain new positions. Hell, blackmailing was always fun, but there was one thing he never allowed. Sexual harassment.

He stood and waited by the statue for Rhys to jump down. There was a long moment before he did, his back to Jack. He stood, his shoulders hunched as he made sure the coast was clear.

Easily, Handsome Jack hooked an arm around him. “Hello, k-”

Rhys screamed and shoved the man, knocking him to the ground. “Get away from me!” Rhys demanded. His eyes widened when he saw who he’d actually pushed. “Oh… Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. I’m really sorry, Handsome Jack, sir. Oh fuck.” Quickly, he grabbed Jack’s arm and yanked him up with such force that Rhys stumbled backwards and they both fell again.

“If I wanted you to yank me around, I’d ask you back to my place,” Jack growled.

Rhys went still, staying where he was, waiting. Terrified.

Now that was more like it. Rhys was finally afraid of Handsome Jack. But for some reason, Jack didn’t like the look on the man’s face. Growling, he pulled the man to his feet. “Okay, calm down, kiddo, I’m not going to kill you. It was stupid of me to sneak up on you after that.”

Rhys’ eyes widened and he looked even more scared. “Wh… What…”

Sighing and rolling his eyes, Jack wrapped his arm around Rhys again and pulled him along. “Yes, cupcake, I saw everything. If there’s one thing I can’t stand more than being lied to, it’s sexual harassment. Now, what is that man’s name? How long has he been threatening you?”

Jack waited for him to answer. Rhys, eyes wide, began to stammer. “I-It’s… Just… I don’t want to be the reason h-he’s-“

Handsome Jack laughed and began to pull Rhys forward again. “That’s adorable, kiddo! Really cute! Sweet, even! Okay, okay, I won’t ask anymore. Anyway, I saw what you were reading in the elevator- yeah I was there, good of you to notice- and it was impressive that you caught that mistake. You should be in a manager position, but I take it you aren’t because of that man?”

Rhys only nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed nervously.

“I see, I see. Hey, what do you say I give you a promotion?” Rhys stumbled, almost tripping, but Jack steadied him. “Woah, there, take it easy, cupcake. This is an actual promotion. My secretary has been nagging me despite all my threats against her life to get a personal assistant and that’s you, pumpkin.”

“What?” Rhys frowned. “That’s not really a promotion…”

“Ah! So your brain is functioning. You don’t think working next to me everyday and being my right hand man is a promotion?”

Rhys was quiet.

Jack smirked. “Yeah, okay, but you’re extremely smart and I want your opinions. What can I say? I’m selfish. Let’s go clean out your desk and get you started. By the way, what animal do you shape-shift into? What? It’s not like it’s a personal question.”

Rhys frowned. “Yes, it is.”

“I’m guessing a goat, one of those that can jump really high. That was impressive.”

“I’m not a goat,” he said.

“But you still won’t tell me. I like someone with a good pair of balls shrouded with mystery. We’re going to get along just great, don’t you think, kiddo?”

“Uh…”

“Perfect!”

 

* * *

 

Rhys had absolutely no idea how he had ended up Handsome Jack’s PA. His day had all started pretty normally, even the dodging of Vasquez had become a pattern. He was good at catching his scent the moment he entered a room. Unfortunately, so had Vasquez with Rhys’ scent. And when he’d caught the huge error with the nanobots, he’d known Vasquez had set it up to trap him. Knew Rhys would visit the robotics lab to talk with them about it and he’d be trapped. But he wasn’t in robotics now. Now, he was in Handsome Jack’s office, at his own overpriced desk, listening to Handsome Jack’s secretary give detailed instructions on Jack’s schedules, how he liked his coffee and food.

“Got it?” Meg asked.

Rhys did, but was too speechless, so he just nodded.

“Don’t be afraid to stand up to him,” Meg said, leaning into him to whisper. “He’ll threaten to kill you, but he won’t because he knows he’ll have to hire new ones and he’s too lazy for that. That’s also why you don’t have to let him push you around either.” She winked and then left the room.

Rhys opened his echo to look at the schedule. Jack would be returning from robotics shortly. He wondered if Vasquez would show up. Not if he saw Handsome Jack yelling at those poor employees. Rhys groaned in his hands. Those poor employees. If they were still alive, he’d send them something to apologize for what happened.

He heard yelling from outside the door. He didn’t have time to react when Handsome Jack burst through the door. “THOSE DAMN IDIOTS! IF I HADN’T FORGOT MY GUN, I WOULD HAVE KILLED THEM! MEG I’M TAKING NO CALLS!”

Rhys, rising to his feet, noted a perfectly secured gun attached to Handsome Jack. Jack slammed the door behind him with such force, the walls shook. Handsome Jack stalked passed Rhys. He grabbed the chair and threw it into the wall where it became lodged. Rhys jumped and wanted to hide, but his concern for the robotic employees drove him to follow after Handsome Jack.

“D-did you hurt any of-of them?” he asked, his voice cracking.

“OF COURSE I DID, THE IDIOTS! CLOCKED AS MANY AS I COULD!” Handsome Jack pulled at his desk, flipping it, almost knocking Rhys over, but the man dodged, his brows furrowing.

“Y-you hurt them? They were good people!” his face was beginning to heat.

“THEY WERE IDIOTS! THE-“

“They were forced to mix the nanobots!” Rhys yelled. “If they didn’t, they would have been fired or worse! And you beat them up over something they didn’t want to do! You’re the idiot!” What the fuck was he saying? He needed to duct tape his mouth shut before he said something to really get himself killed, though, he was probably already dead. Hell, if that was the case, why not go out with a bang? “I tried to tell you, but you stormed out of here before I could!”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?” Handsome Jack was inches away from him, staring him down, his eyes dark and narrowed under his mask.

Fear coursed through Rhys, which fueled his anger and boosted his resolve. “I’m talking about the fact that they were forced to screw up so I’d have to talk with them!” And then Vasquez would corner him and bully him into going on a date. He would threaten their jobs, their lives and Rhys would have complied.

Handsome Jack watched him, his chest heaving, the anger rippling over him. But he didn’t yell, which was even more unnerving. His voice was low, almost growling. “Are you telling me that they screwed up because of you?” Rhys nodded. It was his fault after all. He had refused Vasquez. Handsome Jack eyed him closely. He grunted. “They didn’t screw up because of you, cupcake. They screwed up because of that dickhead you avoided today.”

Rhys’ eyes widened and then he forced his expression back to normal. But it was too late, Handsome Jack had caught it. He took hold of Rhys’ mechanical arm and turn on his ECHO. His eyes never leaving Rhys’. “Meg, I want you to pay for all the damages done by me in the robotics lab and pay for all the medical bills and give them each a ten thousand dollar bonus, along with a guarantee that their jobs are secure.” He clicked off before she could respond. “I don’t like being used, cupcake. When I find this guy, he’s dead.”

 

* * *

 

Vaughn’s eyes were huge. “Are you shitting me!? Handsome Jack said that?”

Rhys, sipping a hard cider, nodded. “Don’t forget about the part where he helped the guys in robotics.” He adjusted the blanket around him.

“Yeah, but Vasquez being dead…” Vaughn whistled.

“It’s about damn time,” Yvette said from the kitchen. She had a huge plate of fried chicken in one hand and wine in the other. “I’ve been plotting against that douchebag ever since he started hitting on you.” She sat down on the other side of the couch, Vaughn in the middle. “But now that Handsome Jack’s on the case, I can just get some popcorn and watch.”

“I don’t want Vasquez to die on my account, no matter how much of an asshole he is,” Rhys said.

“Yeah, but now it’s personal,” Yvette said between bites. Rhys reached over and grabbed a piece. Vaughn shuddered as Rhys ate it. “Vasquez is going to die because he used Handsome Jack, even though that wasn’t his goal. It was stupidly brilliant.”

“I guess that’s true,” Rhys said. “I’m still not going to tell him, I won’t be responsible for that.”

Vaughn, whose face had become pale, moved from the couch to sit on the recliner. “You guys are disgusting. Eating all that chicken.”

Yvette smirked. “Awe! C’mon, it’s tasty, have a bite.”

Vaughn was horrified.

Rhys laughed. “We were just horsing around, Vaughn, we’d never make you do anything you don’t want to do.”

Vaughn glared. “Haha, horsing around. You two are assholes.”

The two laughed and soon, Vaughn was smiling despite himself. They had been roommates for years now, in their three bedroom, two bath Helios apartment. Yvette, being the female of the three of them- and more scary- got the master bedroom with the private bathroom. Her animal was an arctic fox. She was actually really cute when she shifted into it, though her temperature preferences ran on the lower side. It had been something Vaughn and Rhys had had to get used to. It had been easier on Vaughn, his animal being a Clydesdale horse and used to temperature changes. Not so for Rhys, who preferred hot temperatures over cold any day. His animal was a serval, and he was just now used to the mild, sixty-five degree apartment. His closet had no room for sleeveless shirts and he always had a blanket around him, like now.

But seriously, what was he going to do about Vasquez? The man had no idea just how close he was to death. And being Handsome Jack’s PA now, if they ever bumped into each other and Vasquez was an idiot, Handsome Jack would find out who he was and then surely kill him. What kind of mess had he found himself in?

Even as Rhys shivered to himself, remembering how angry Jack had gotten, he was touched by how quickly Jack had listened to Rhys and had made things right. Hiding in his blanket, Rhys smiled. It had been absolutely shocking to see that side of Jack. To see such a scary man with such a horrible reputation flip around and instantly make things right. He hadn’t expected Jack to admit he’d made a mistake, but there it was. Yeah, when Jack had first become CEO, Rhys had looked up to the man and even had posters of him. But after so many rumored deaths and Handsome Jack’s bad temper, Rhys had sort of stopped idolizing him. But now… Maybe Handsome Jack wasn’t so bad after all?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


	2. Jack Tries a Different A-purr-oach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys and Jack spend their first day together.

The next day, Jack leaned over Rhys’ desk, his eyes intense. He had come in first thing in the morning to tell Rhys they were going to visit all the people he’d beaten up.

“Why?” Rhys asked.

“Because I owe them an apology, and I’m going to personally give them their bonuses.” He smirked. “I’ll give them a picture of me giving it to them and I’ll sign it, that way they can brag.”

Rhys didn’t say anything. He had a feeling this was also so Handsome Jack could fish for information for Vasquez.

“And you’re coming with me.”

“Why?” Rhys asked, growing more concerned.

“Well, cupcake, if they see you’re alive and well, they’ll be less terrified.”

Blinking, Rhys shook his head. “Why… Why would they think I’m… Not alive?”

“Well, I walked you to your desk and you packed all your shit up. You don’t think those rumors spread?” Jack’s grin was wolfish.

Rhys covered his mouth. “Oh shit! They think you…”

Jack pointed a finger gun at him and shot him. “Exactly, pumpkin. So, let’s go.”

“Wait, but you have meetings today.”

“Cancel them.”

But if he did, they’d call Meg and then Meg would get upset and her wrath would be terrifying. It was something for Jack to be scary, but Meg was even more scary. She was not afraid of Handsome Jack and that had Rhys more scared of her than Jack. “Okay, but let me send them an email.”

“Ugh, just have Meg do it,” Jack said.

Rhys frowned. “It will only take five minutes.”

Jack let out a huge, annoyed sigh. He left Rhys’ desk, but not before knocking over the case that held Rhys’ pens and pencils. Frowning, Rhys put them back in the container and then wrote the email. He apologized profusely and then requested that if they had any questions to contact him via email.

When he stood, Jack looped his arm around Rhys and drug him away from his desk. “Took ya long enough! That was longer than five minutes.”

“I… I had to pick up my pens and pencils…”

Handsome Jack grunted. They whizzed past Meg. Rhys waved at her and she frowned. “I had better not have to deal with complaints.”

“I sent them an email and told them to contact me, but I’m really sorry if they call you!” Rhys said as the elevator shut. He swallowed, hoping he wouldn’t end up dead at the hands of Meg.

When they reached the infirmary, they let Jack pass by without question. But Rhys stopped and asked the nurse at the desk where the robotics workers were. When he caught up to Handsome Jack, who was looking around, irritated and grumbling about the inefficiency of the place. Rhys, unsure how to tell him, just started walking in the right direction. Handsome Jack followed, but his grumblings deepened.

When they got to the wing, they entered the first room. It was a man Rhys recognized, but Handsome Jack stopped just in the door and blocked Rhys from view.

The man in the bed began to panic. “Oh, no please! I thought I was going to be fine-”

“Shut up,” Jack snapped. “I’m not here to kill you.” Rhys could hear Jack smiling. “I’m here to personally hand your bonus over to you. And if you want, which of course you would, a picture of the two of us and I’ll even sign it for you.”

“R-really?” the man asked. “O-okay!”

Handsome Jack stepped forward. “Rhys, take a picture of us.”

The man’s eyes widened. “Rhys! You’re ali-a… Around! You just disappeared!”

Rhys smiled. “I-”

“He’s my PA now,” Jack said. When the man looked at Rhys for confirmation, he nodded.

“Wow! That’s quite a promotion! And now you can-”

Rhys stepped forward, nervously. “Ah- yes. Now I can help you guys like you’ve always wanted.” He wanted no mention of Vasquez.

The man caught on and nodded. “Yes, not more hoops to jump through just to get a little advice.”

Nodding, Rhys held up his ECHO. “Alright, time for the picture, smile wide.”

And that was the way the visits went. The workers seemed forgiving of Jack, especially when they all learned their medical bills were taken care of and to order anything they wanted. That, the bonus and a picture, with the underlying promise of a steady job, made them all very agreeable. And their joy escalated when Rhys was, over and over again, presented by Jack as a fanale.

By the time everything was done with, Rhys was exhausted and very hungry. But as they left the wing, Handsome Jack whirled on him. “Dammit, cupcake.” He glared.

Rhys froze, his eyes wide.

Jack moved in close, whispering. “You stopped them every single time they started talking about that dead man.” Jack rested a hand on the wall, leaning in. “How can you defend this douchebag?”

Rhys didn’t know what to say. Handsome Jack was very intimidating and it made Rhys clam up.

Handsome Jack growled. “I was close, pumpkin, so freakin’ close to finding out who this jackass is and you shut them all up. I can’t make things right if I don’t know who this asshole is.”

Rhys bit his lip and looked at the ground.

Jack’s voice was quiet, different. “Dammit Rhys, it’s personal. He’s threatened you.”

Rhys looked up and almost gasped at how close Jack was. His eyes flicked up from Rhys’ lips to his eyes. Woah, wait… Had… Had Handsome Jack been staring at Rhys’ lips?

But then Jack stepped back. “I will find out who this guy is.” He turned and stalked away. “Let’s go cupcake, I’m starving.”

Rhys, hesitating for a moment, followed, walking briskly to catch up with Handsome Jack.

They ate at the closest restaurant, which was a burger joint. Jack had ordered a coffee the moment they arrived and he stirred cream and sugar into it. Rhys was quiet, he’d been going over what Handsome Jack had said. _ It was personal, Vasquez had threatened Rhys. _ What did that mean? It was personal  _ because _ Vasquez had threatened Rhys? Or, more likely, it was personal,  _ and then _ Vasquez had threatened Rhys. Rhys had only worked for Handsome Jack for two days, that’s all it could mean.

Rhys slid into a booth across from Handsome Jack and looked at his menu. Jack tugged it down. “Order anything you want, ‘kay?”

Rhys nodded. He found the burger he wanted and then his eyes widened.

“What?” Jack asked. His arms were crossed, his menu tossed to the side.

Tucking into himself, Rhys found himself blushing, which only embarrassed him and made him redden more. “It’s just… I’ve never been able to order a milkshake before.”

Handsome Jack’s eyes widened. “From here, you mean?”

Rhys shyly shook his head. “Ever…”

Handsome Jack frowned. “You’re freakin’ kidding me, how is that even possible? You’re ordering one.”

When their waiter came, they both ordered burgers, rare. And then Rhys ordered a chocolate milkshake. When they were alone, Handsome Jack eyed him.

“What?” Rhys asked.

“You like your meat like I do, which means you can’t be a goat.”

Rhys frowned. “I already said I wasn’t a goat.”

“Yeah, but now I know for sure. You’re a carnivore. It makes us more compatible.”

“For what?” Rhys asked.

“Working together, obviously,” Jack said, smirking.

Rhys nodded.

They went over work, which made Jack grumpy and he started tearing over the sugar packets and dumping them into his coffee. Rhys noticed this after a while and stopped mid sentence. “You… You pay me to do this…” he said, worried.

Handsome Jack glared. He rested his chin in his hand. “Do you like me, Cupcake?”

Rhys was confused about what Handsome Jack meant. Sure, the man was attractive. So, very attractive. Rhys flushed, when he saw Jack smirking. Rhys had nowhere to hide, but thankfully his milkshake arrived. His eyes widened when he saw it and a large, goofy grin appeared.

It was served in a glass, topped with whipped cream. The waiter set a straw on the table. Rhy tore it open and put the straw inside. “Wow! This… This is…” He drank from it. He closed his eyes and moaned, sucking more through the straw. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted!”

“Mmm,” Jack said, watching closely.

A very sudden pain erupted in Rhys’ head. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead. “What… I don’t… Oh, it hurts! What’s happening?”

Handsome Jack burst out laughing. “Oh, oh this is too good. Oh, pumpkin, you are just too cute, I can’t handle it. You’re telling me you’ve never had a brain freeze before? Seriously?” He banged his hand on the table.

Rhys shook his head. “It hurts so much, though!”

“It’ll go away, worry wort. You drank the shake too fast.”

But Rhys just shook his head and rubbed his forehead. When the pain did ebb away, he blinked back tears. It wasn’t that he was freaked out, but the pain had hit him just right. He rubbed his eyes.

“Woah, woah, are you okay? You actually started crying?” Jack was frowning.

Rhys smiled though and laughed. “I’m fine!” he drank more of the shake, but much slower, taking breaks in between. He smiled. “Thank you…” he blushed. “For, you know, buying me the shake.”

“Oh, I’ll buy you all the milkshakes you want, princess.”

Blushing more, Rhys smiled and drank more of his shake. He was finding himself surprised at how easy it was to be around Handsome Jack, the man everyone was terrified of. He was smiling easily, something only achieved with Yvette and Vaughn. Rhys liked it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


	3. Em-barking on an Adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! Check out Hide or Hair by viperscreed, a story inspired by this one!!! It's amazing and creative and addicting!! Check. It. Out!!!!

A week later, Rhys sighed and waited by the door. “The meeting’s in ten minutes,” he said.

Jack huffed and looked at him, his arms crossed. “Do you know, Rhysie, I say your name like every day, more than everyday. I say it a lot. I even call you Rhysie, which is just as cute as you are, but you haven’t said my name once.” He looked at Rhys now, his fingertips of each hand meeting each other. He rested them in his lap. “Why is that, cupcake?”

Leaning against the closed door, Rhys sighed. “We don’t have time for this, we’ll be late and they’ll all complain to me about it.”

Jack’s arms released to dangle on either side of his chair and he sighed heavily. He stood and the two went to the meeting. They were on time and Rhys smiled at everyone as he entered. They smiled at him. He said his hellos and asked how their families were doing. Everyone was good. Jack was irritated by this, but didn’t say anything until the last person was greeted.

“Yeah, yeah, everyone has lives, big whoop, let’s get going.” Rhys gave them an apologetic look and sat next to Jack. He busied himself with notes.

Until a piece of paper was tossed over them. He looked at Jack, but Jack was paying quite a lot of attention to the conversation. Sighing internally, Rhys opened the paper.

_ How come you never ask how I’m doing? _

Rhys frowned. Was Handsome Jack seriously writing him notes? Rhys tucked the paper away. A minute later another was tossed in front of him. He sighed once more and read it.

_ Seriously, you never ask how I’m doing. Why? _

Rhys realized this would not end until he said something back. He turned it over and scribbled on it.  _ 1\. You always tell me how you’re doing. 2. I’m your PA, I’m always with you unless we’re sleeping.  _ He flicked the note across the table, where Jack easily caught it.

His smirk made Rhys blush and he concentrated back on his notes, but another piece was passed to him.

_ Oh, well, we can change that, you know?  _

Rhys’s face was hot. He turned the paper over.  _ You should be paying attention to the meeting. _

Jack passed the note back.  _ Why, when we could be doing this? I trust your judgement. You still owe me an explanation on why you don’t say my name. _

Rhys frowned and stashed the note away.

Jack tossed one over again.  _ Hey, don’t ignore me, this is serious. _

Rhys passed it back to Jack after scribbling irritatedly.  _ Your business is serious too. You should be paying attention. _

He heard a huff from Handsome Jack and felt really guilty when everyone winced. Jack was not huffing at them, but at Rhys. Another note was received by Rhys.

_ This meeting is stupid. We could have just read it in an email and you’re just avoiding my question. _

Rhys thought for a moment and then wrote on the paper.  _ Why does it matter to you? _

For some strange reason, Rhys was genuinely nervous. He didn’t understand why, but it felt like hours had gone by before Jack passed his note back.

_ You’re my PA, I need to make sure everything’s okay. Are you stimulated enough? Do I pick your brain enough? Do I give you enough coding work to satisfy you? _

Rhys did not know how to respond. Handsome Jack was not like his reputation. Well, yeah, he was, but not to Rhys, for whatever reason. Another note was passed to him.

_ You’re falling for me aren’t you? _

Rhys was totally lost. Handsome Jack was just messing with him. Which is why the fact that Rhys was blushing was so miserable. He did not know what to do.

Handsome Jack stood then and clapped his hands. “Yeah, great, wonderful, very informative. Good work and all that junk.” He stretched. “But we really have other, just as important things to do. Send it in an email.”

Rhys frowned, but gathered his things, stowing the note with the other ones. He followed Jack out, wishing everyone a good day. Once out the door, Handsome Jack wrapped an arm around Rhys. “Wow, I’m hungry! What do you say we go to lunch?”

Checking his clock, he frowned. “It’s not even lunchtime yet.”

“Aw, c’mon! I’ll buy you a milkshake.”

And how could Rhys refuse that?

Their lunch was at an upscale restaurant. Handsome Jack handed the menus back to the waiter. “We’re ready.” He ordered for both him and Rhys, even Rhys’ milkshake.

No one had ever ordered for Rhys before and he wasn’t sure how to take it. Seeing as how this was Handsome Jack, Rhys guessed it would be better to just let Handsome Jack do what he wanted.

Handsome Jack smiled. “Trust me, you’ll like this.”

Apparently, Rhys looked skeptical.

Rolling his eyes, Handsome Jack huffed. “Fine, if you don’t like, which won’t be the case, you can order something else.”

Rhys was surprised. He nodded. A few minutes later, Rhys’ strawberry shake arrived and he sipped it with excitement. “Ooooh, wow! This tastes really fresh!”

“It should, it’s homemade ice cream with fresh strawberries.” Handsome Jack sat back as Rhys pulled out their schedule and sipped the shake. Handsome Jack frowned. “You’re always on that thing.”

“It’s… It’s my job…” Rhys said shyly, licking at some ice cream that had dripped past his mouth.

Handsome Jack huffed. “It’s a friggin’ waste, is what it is.”

Rhys looked at him, his eyes wide, worried.

Sighing, Handsome Jack rolled his eyes. “Forget it, Meg’s never been happier. But you could talk to me a little more, instead of hiding in that damn thing.” He indicated the ECHO.

Wincing, Rhys gingerly put it away and sat with his arms in his lap, drinking his shake. He looked at the table, waiting. Handsome Jack looked at him. “Well, ask me anything. I bet you have a lot of things you want to ask me. I am everyone’s idol,” he said grinning wide.

Rhys smiled a little despite himself, but he couldn’t think of any questions, at least nothing good. But the man was staring at him and expecting something. Rhys  cleared his throat. “So… Uhm… What’s… What’s your favorite color?”

Handsome Jack looked at him like Rhys had to be joking. “My favorite color? Seriously?”

Rhys just nodded.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed. “Yellow, I guess.”

Nodding, Rhys sipped his shake. “That makes sense, since you had everything redone in yellow and black.”

Their food arrived and Rhys stared at his prime steak. His eyes grew large at the smell. “Oh, oh this smells really good!” he grabbed a knife and cut a piece off. He melted, his eyes closed. “Oh, yeah! This is the good stuff!”

When he opened them, he blushed. Handsome Jack had been watching him with a large, cocky smirk. “Told ya, you wouldn’t be disappointed.”

But Rhys smiled. “You’re right, I’m not! This is the best I’ve ever had!”

Handsome Jack just smirked and ate his own food. “So, other questions?”

Thinking for a moment, Rhys asked. “What’s your favorite weather?”

Handsome Jack’s expression sank. He sighed. “I love storms, all that raw chaos is awesome. Are these the only questions you really want to ask me?”

Rhys thought for a moment. “I can’t think of any other ones right now…”

Sighing heavily, Handsome Jack leaned forward. “Alright, cupcake, what’s your favorite color?”

Taking another sip of his shake, Rhys thought. “I like yellow too, but I also love green and blue… Red’s good!” he frowned. “I don’t think I have a favorite…”

“If you had to choose,” Jack said.

Rhys bit his lip. “Hmm, I guess, I’d have to say blue.”

“And your favorite weather?”

At this, Rhys lit up, smiling wide. “Sunny! The warmer the better! My roommate needs it cool, so it’s always too cold at home.”

Handsome Jack looked at him. “You need heat.”

“I prefer it, but like I said, I’ve gotten used to it being cold.”

“How cold?” Handsome Jack asked, his brows raising.

“About… Sixty…”

Handsome Jack shook his head, grinning. “You’re killing me here, Rhysie. Sixty degrees is not cold.”

“It is to me,” Rhys said. His eyes widened when he realized he’d talked back to Handsome Jack. He cleared his throat. “Sorry…”

But this only made Handsome Jack grumpy. “Don’t apologize for having a friggin’ opinion.” He slid out of his seat. “I’m going. I’ll meet you in the office later.” And he stood. “Tell ‘em to put it on Handsome Jack’s tab and if they give you any grief, you let me know immediately.” And then he stalked away.

Rhys sat there, unsure of what just happened. He got their meals boxed and when they asked about the bill, they didn’t question about putting it on Handsome Jack’s bill. Rhys went back to the office to do some work. He decided to stash their food in the mini fridge. When he opened it though, he almost threw up. Everything inside it was rotting. Setting down the fresh leftovers on Rhys’ desk, he set to work. He pulled a trashcan over and started dumping everything, tupperware and all. But there was still slime and food inside the fridge.

He found some cleaning supplies and sprayed the fridge over. While he waited for everything to soak, he checked his email. He confirmed meetings and answered a few questions. He hadn’t been sure how he would like working as a PA and at times it was a little boring. Planning the monotony was a little grading, but Handsome Jack was always asking for Rhys’ opinions. Asking about upgrades and having Rhys double check the work. That part was more fun, reading through the coding and talking about it with Handsome Jack. They could talk easily to each other about it and Rhys had even pointed out a couple things Handsome Jack had missed. Handsome Jack had looked at Rhys with a twinkle in his eye and a happy smile. Rhys had felt really proud in that moment.

Before he could let his mind wander too much about that moment, he returned to the fridge and scrubbed the dirtiest parts, wiping everything with paper towels. He was so ingrained in his work, he hadn’t heard the door open and hadn’t heard Handsome Jack walking over to him, excitedly.

“Hey, Rhysie, stop what you’re doing and-” Handsome Jack’s voice startled Rhys so much he leapt straight into the air and backwards, crashing down on Handsome Jack.

* * *

When Rhys came to, he was in pain. He was on something warm and nice, but his body ached. The more he lay awake, however, the more he remembered what had happened. Where was Handsome Jack?

The body moved under him and in a panic, Rhys lurched upwards. Handsome Jack grunted as Rhys’ hand and weight landed back down on Jack’s gut. Handsome Jack swore. Quickly, Rhys tried to move away so he wouldn’t be hurt or killed, but he was tugged backwards, landing on Jack again. Handsome Jack gasped again in pain. Rhys, panicking and not knowing why he couldn’t get away, continued to try to pull away from Handsome Jack as he finally awoke.

“Dammit, pumpkin, stop! If I wanted to be roughed up and turned on, I would have invited you back to my place.”

Rhys was breathing hard. “I can’t…” he looked down and finally evaluated his situation. He frowned. “My… My arm! It’s stuck!” He tugged his mechanical arm, but it would not dislodge from Handsome Jack’s crotch. Rhys pulled and tugged, his panic rising.

Handsome Jack sat up and grabbed Rhys’ shoulders. “Seriously, Rhysie, all your moving is giving me a hard on.”

Rhys’ eyes were large, his breath heavy, not registering what Handsome Jack was saying. “I’m stuck! I can’t-” Rhys focused with his ECHO eye to detach his arm, but there was nothing. “There’s… There’s no response! My echo can’t reach my arm! I can’t see out of that eye! I don’t know what to do,what’s going on?”

“First, calm your cute ass down and stop moving.”

Rhys complied, taking deep breaths.

Jack reached down and grabbed his belt. He pressed a button and then swore again. He fiddled with it more, but the longer he took the more anxious Rhys became. He started to tug again.

Growling, Handsome Jack looked at Rhys, fully annoyed, but when he saw the genuine fear in the man’s eyes, Handsome Jack sighed. “Seriously, Rhys, I need you to be calm.”

“Why isn’t anything happening? You’re pushing all these buttons, what are they all for anyway?”

“It’s a new prototype I was testing,” Jack said as he looked at the belt.

Rhys breathed hard. “It’s a prototype? No wonder this is happening!” He tugged on his arm. “Prototypes are supposed to stay in labs!”

“Dammit, cupcake, stop that. I need to test a theory.”

Rhys frowned at Jack, his eyes wide and feral. “Do it in a lab first!”

This only made Handsome Jack smirk. “You’re a sassy one, huh?” Rhys just frowned. Handsome Jack laughed and started to get up. “C’mon, Rhysie, we gotta stand up.”

Rhys was incredibly clumsy, but with the help of Jack, he was standing next to him, Rhys’ shoulder pressed against Handsome Jack’s torso. Handsome Jack wrapped his arm around Rhys’ shoulders. Rhys flinched, but there was nothing any of them could do about it. And then Rhys groaned. “It… It looks like I’m feeling you up!”

Handsome Jack’s smile was cocky, but all he said was, “This way.” He lead Rhys to Jack’s desk. He reached forward and grabbed a paper clip. He set the clip near the belt and it whizzed out of his hand to magnetize to Jack’s belt. Handsome Jack whistled. “Damn, that is one strong magnet.”

“M-magnet!?” Rhys once more pulled on his arm, but Handsome Jack tightened his grip around Rhys’ shoulders, stopping him.

“Rhysie, I’m not saying the thought of you giving me a handjob isn’t extremely hot, but I can’t go to Pandora with a stiffy.”

“Why are you going to Pandora?” Rhys asked.

Handsome Jack lead him to his private elevator. They stepped in. “Because there’s a lead on a vault there and I need to capitalize on it. And, sweetcheeks, you’re coming with me.” Jack flashed Rhys a large, excited grin.

“W-with y-you! Oh, oh no, I can’t. I’m not cut out for Pandora.”

Handsome Jack squeezed Rhys. “You kind of have to, kiddo, I don’t have time to get this looked at.” He pointed to his belt.

When the elevator opened to Handsome Jack’s private garage, Rhys didn’t move. He shook his head. “No, please, no, this isn’t a good idea. Can’t you just take the belt off?” Rhys’ voice was panicked.

“It shorted, babe, probably when you freaked and landed on me. It won’t turn on and it won’t detach. We’re stuck with each other until we get back.” Handsome Jack pulled Rhys out of the elevator and over to a space car. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.” He opened his side of the door and pushed the seat back all the way and sat down. Rhys had to crouch to stay next to Handsome Jack.

“This isn’t going to work,” Rhys said.

There was a wolfish grin from Jack. He patted his lap.

Rhys’ eyes widened. “You… Want…”

“It’s the only way, baby.” When Rhys began to shake his head, his cheeks reddening, Jack pulled him forward. “We don’t have time to dilly dally, cupcake.”

Rhys was awkward climbing in. His legs were everywhere, and with his mechanical arm attached to Jack, he lost his balance several times, his face smushing against Jack’s chest. Handsome Jack lifted Rhys’ legs so they rested in the passenger seat. He closed the door, a permanent smirk on his face.

“Not so bad, right?” Jack asked, his voice lower than normal.

Rhys flushed. It was true that he had idolized Handsome Jack, but he’d never thought about the possibility of this situation. Now, he was sitting in Handsome Jack’s lap and it was glorious.

Handsome Jack smiled wide. “Yeah, you’re fallin’ for me.” And then he started the car and they headed for Pandora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/
> 
> A perfect picture from a friend!  
> http://starfruitspice.tumblr.com/post/158245084433/jacks-an-asshole-who-doesnt-test-things-in-a-lab


	4. Serval Hours Later...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey you wonderful readers! Check out Hide or Hair by viperscreed, a story inspired by this one!!! It's really awesome! And creative! And exciting!

Rhys was in Handsome Jack’s lap.  _ Rhys was in Handsome Jack’s lap _ . Rhys was in Handsome Jack’s lap! Rhys could not believe he was currently sitting in Handsome Jack’s lap. He doubted if anyone ever could say that. And he supposed that he should relax, since his boss was so nonchalant about their predicament. But Rhys couldn’t relax. He was much too much a bundle of nerves. He didn’t want to move too much, or at all, and get in the way.

When they exited Helios, however, and were in open space, Rhys looked around him in amazement and marveled at the stars. “Wow…”

“You see them all the time.”

“Yeah, but it’s easy to forget we’re in space when I’m always on Helios and working. It’s just so… incredible.”

Handsome Jack shrugged, the corners of his lips curling upwards. “At least you’re relaxing now.”

This made Rhys flush again. He took deep breaths, willing himself to stay relaxed. But he was surrounded by the man, his arms cocooning Rhys. It was warm and honestly comfortable. An arm was pressed to his back while the other shielded him from the rest of the car. Studying Handsome Jack, Rhys found the man  didn’t seem to mind this one bit. Even almost seemed to like it. But maybe that was just Rhys reading into things too much. He looked out of the car. “How… How long will it take to get to Pandora?” he asked.

“A few hours.”

Rhys nodded. He was going to be in Jack’s lap for a few hours. Hours. He would spend hours surrounded so closely by this man and still, after they landed, they would be attached. He would be close to Handsome Jack for hours. And he would be smelling this scent for this time. Rhys easily admitted to himself that it was very pleasing. It was earthy and warm and very comforting, something Rhys wouldn’t have defined Handsome Jack as.

Nevertheless, Rhys, unable to help himself, leaned in slightly and sniffed. Handsome Jack’s scent swirled around him, calming Rhys drastically. He did not know why, but it did.

“Like the way I smell, cupcake?”

Rhys wanted to die now. He pulled away, noting the cocky smirk Handsome Jack had. Rhys tried to ignore the heat on his face, but it was hard when the smell still surrounded him. “Sorry…”

Suddenly, he was being held close, his face shoved against Handsome Jack's chest. “If you want to smell me, Rhysie, don’t be shy. I know my animal magnetism is addicting. I do have an addicting personality.” Oh, the cocky, arrogant grin.

Rhys’ cheek was smooshed, but he still managed to speak. “I don’t think that’s what addicting personality means… I think it means you get addicted to things easily…”

“Either way it’s correct.” The hold on Rhys was loosened and Rhys pulled away. His gaze met Jack’s, who’s smile softened. “I’ve become very addicted to you.”

Rhys couldn’t continue eye contact. He looked out the windows, a smile appearing absently in the shadow of those words. He was amazed at how much his boss flirted with him, but Rhys figured it was just the man being Handsome Jack. So, while Rhys didn’t put any stock in it, he wasn’t one to turn down a compliment.

In the distance, Pandora was getting larger and nearer. Rhys watched it. “Why are we going down there? I think I should be prepared.”

“There’s a guy who has some info on a vault. I finally tracked him down and I’m going to make him tell me everything.”

“Make him at all costs?” Rhys asked. He realized he shouldn’t have said that. “I’m sorry- just…”

“At all costs, pumpkin.”

Rhys sobered and he nodded. Sure, he knew people killed to move up in Helios, but… That had never been Rhys’ thing. Would he mind if Vasquez had a horrible accident and died forever? No, not at all. But Rhys wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he’d been the cause of that.

“If you’re squeamish, princess,” Handsome Jack cooed, his smirk widening. “You can just hide your face against me, that way my scent will calm you.”

Rhys frowned. He was never going to live that down.

* * *

 

When they reached Pandora, Rhys couldn’t wait. He’d been getting stir crazy for the last hour and he had to keep reminding himself that he couldn’t move in Handsome Jack’s lap. When they finally touched on the ground, Rhys practically leapt from the car. This almost made him fall, but Handsome Jack took hold of him and helped him out. Face heating, Rhys avoided his gaze as he waited to Haddon his balance again.

The intense heat of Pandora passed over Rhys like a wave. He closed his eyes and smiled. He hadn’t felt heat like this in a very long time. He breathed in all the scents, the heat, the air. His smile widened. He was warm!

Handsome Jack stood next to him. “What’s with the face, kid?”

Rhys smiled wider, for the first time not caring. “It’s so warm! I’m always too cold!”

With a getting, Rhys was pulled to the trunk of the car, where it was opened, showcasing multitudes of weapons. Rhys’ eyes widened.

“Wanna try my gun?” The grin on his face told Rhys he was not talking about any of the guns in the car.

Rhys looked at the guns. “You think we’ll need all of these?”

Handsome Jack’s grin melted a little. “I always like being prepared.” He started loading up. But when he reached forward, Rhys was pulled, their bodies bumping against each other. Handsome Jack moved his arm around Rhys and worked around him. Rhys was pressed tightly against the man again as he leaned forward and worked. Rhys was silent and tried to stay as out of the way as much as possible. But his presence did not seem irritating or any form of inconvenience, easily being worked around.

When everything was finished, Rhys held a secondary map, a tiny pistol he'd been ordered to carry after refusing any of the other guns, and a flashlight. Handsome Jack, however, had his normal side arm tucked in its holster on his thigh, a large, obvious semi-automatic, and three small pistols hidden in various places on his person. He also had a map and flashlight, which he tucked away. He closed the trunk and wrapped an arm around Rhys’ shoulder.

“Let’s go, cupcake. We’ve still gotta hike a ways.”

Rhys smiled wide.

Handsome Jack was disgusted. “Ugh, you really like this shit heat.”

Uncaring, Rhys nodded vigorously.

“If you weren’t so friggin’ cute, kiddo, we’d have major relationship issues.”

This made Rhys frown. “But I thought I was good at my job? You’ve even said-”

“Yeah, sure, your work ethic is  _ exactly _ what I was talking about,” Handsome Jack snapped. “Let’s just shut up and get to the damn place.”

They walked for probably an hour before Rhys began to see buildings. He perked his ears at the silence, unnerved.The buildings were long since abandoned in caretaking. Then Rhys stiffened as he heard it, distant noises, like gunfire.

Handsome Jack pulled him close, aware of Rhys’ unease. He was lead to the buildings, which made Rhys even more uneasy. The gunfire was definitely coming from there. “I… I don’t think… This… This isn’t good…”

“Relax, cupcake, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

When they were squarely in the middle of the small road that went through the structures, Handsome Jack unloaded his semi-automatic. “Handsome Jack has arrived!”

“What the hell are you doing!?” Rhys asked, starting to back away.

Handsome Jack held him firm, his arm moving to wrap around Rhys’ waist. “ _ Relax _ , princess.”

Automatically, Rhys shoved the hand away, shaking his head. “This is not good… We’re going to get killed.”

“I’m disappointed in your lack of faith, cupcake. You’re with Handsome Jack, you think he can’t keep you safe?”

Before Rhys could say anything a psycho ran towards them. Handsome Jack aimed and shot several times, killing it dead. He shoved Rhys towards a building to take cover. “Huh, this shouldn’t be happening. I wonder what’s going on?”

Rhys frowned. “We’re being attacked. That’s what happens when you fire off guns wildly on Pandora!”

This gained a dangerous smile from Handsome Jack as he killed a midget psycho as it ran at them yelling. Rhys flinched when it practically fell and slid on top of them.

“Don’t worry, kiddo, this is all part of the fun!”

“No, it’s not!” Rhys snapped.

But Handsome Jack wasn’t paying attention. He hooked an arm around Rhys’ waist and pulled them forward, keeping Rhys guarded from the fire fight ahead of them. He took down a few more psychos and midgets, all the while shouting and laughing.

Then, as a psycho ran at them, it began to shift into whatever animal it was, Rhys guessed something like a scag. But it stopped shifting partway through, its body oblong and contorted. Its face had the jaw of the Pandoran creature, an eye feral, the other more human. It lunged at them. 

Handsome Jack howled, excited and shot it down. “Now,  _ that’s _ more like it!” he laughed. He was suddenly tugged backwards, as Rhys tried to jump away. They stumbled backwards. The arm that held Rhys tightened, pulling him even closer than before. Terrified of being caught, Rhys started to paw at his shoulder connection, pulling it away from his body.

“Hey! Hey, none of that!” Another psycho in mid-shift came towards them. It was sit down easily as Rhys pulled more at his mechanical arm. Growling, Handsome Jack pushed him roughly against a building, letting his gun fall against the wall. He pried Rhys hand from his connecting part. “Dammit, Rhysie! What the friggin’ hell are you thinking!? What are you going to do if you got away, bleeding in the middle of a fight?”

Rhys’ eyes were large, dilated, and beyond frightened. “It doesn’t matter!”

“Yes it does!” Handsome Jack picked up his gun and turned back to the fight. With his other arm, he grabbed Rhys’ wrist and held tight. Rhys tugged it away, frightened to be captured. “Stop struggling, I can’t focus! And if I can’t do that, we’re both dead!”

That seemed to finally make it through to Rhys and he stopped. Handsome Jack lead Rhys further into the battle, keeping close to the buildings. He took down several other psychos, some shifted, others in their mutated human form. As they drew closer, they could see another form fighting in the fray. It was an immense mass of white muddled in blood.

“What…” Rhys choked.

Handsome Jack smirked. “Wilhelm!” He pulled them closer, taking down bandits and psychos easily. Rhys cringed into his boss, pressing one ear against the man and plugging the other with his hand. The noise was becoming too much, too overwhelming. He closed his eyes, only opening them when they moved. He knew it was a stupid thing to do, in the middle of a battle, but it was the only way to keep himself from panicking.

And then the noise stopped.

Rhys peaked an eye open. There were no more bandits alive. No more psychos or their midgets. He straightened, his ears ringing some as he surveyed the damage. Dead bodies surround them, their blood fresh and seeping into Rhys. He shuddered and didn’t mind when Handsome Jack pulled him closer. In fact, Rhys curled into him, trying to hide from the bloodshed.

Rhys did not see the acute smile on Handsome Jack’s face when Rhys did this. He pulled them forward, but Rhys put on the breaks. “We’re moving closer to-”

“Wilhelm? Yes, he’s the person I was here to meet.”

Rhys shook his head.

“ _ Relax _ , cupcake, everything’s going to be fine.” It was said purely to calm Rhys down. No, everything was not alright. There were not supposed to be bandits here. There was not supposed to be fighting. There was only supposed to be quiet and secrecy and Wilhelm laying in wait with Jack’s informant. This did not look good at all.

The large bear turned as it stood in the bloody heap of bodies. Rhys swallowed a gasp. The bear was at least half mechanical and even more menacing. Blood stained his white fur and enhancements.

Handsome Jack stopped a few feet away, assessing the bear. “Wilhelm, buddy, just stopped by to help you.”

“Is he…” Rhys began to ask.

“No, cupcake, just give him a minute to sniff us out. He’ll know it’s me.”

The polar bear turned to face them. He then rose to his hind feet, stretching up over them. And then, Rhys began to notice changes. Wilhelm was changing back into his human form the mechanisms worrying and shifting around as the body morphed. When his human form emerged, Rhys was still craning his head back to see his face. Wilhelm was huge and taller than them and coated with blood. And very much naked.

“You’re late, Jack,” Wilhelm growled. His voice was low and gravely.

“Late for the excitement?” Handsome Jack quirked a brow. “If I remember correctly, there wasn’t supposed to be any excitement.”

Wilhelm shrugged.

“Where’s the informant?”

“Those little shits took him.”

Handsome Jack seethed. “WHAT!? What do you mean- why did you let them take him!? Who friggin’ took the idiot?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


	5. Having a Ruff Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are not going well for Jack and Rhys, but at least Wilhelm's having fun.

Wilhelm grunted. It was then, he noticed Rhys. Rhys and his hand that grabbed Jack’s crotch. He pointed at Rhys. “Who’s this? You get angry at me for having a little fun, when you were doing the exact same? Why is he groping you?”

Rhys flushed hard. He made a move to step as far as he could away from Handsome Jack, but Handsome Jack kept Rhys firmly against him. “This is my PA, Rhys. Who took my informant?”

Rhys did not like Handsome Jack’s lack of explanation. He did not address the ‘groping’ bit and the fact that Handsome Jack was still holding him close only added to everything.

“Some guy who calls himself Toby Horrendous, he lives just over that way.” Wilhelm thrust a thumb in the direction.

“Good, not far away,” Handsome Jack said.

Rhys shook his head vigorously. “We’re not going into all of that with just you two, are we?”

His boss’ brows rose. “Oh, we’re a __we__  now? You still haven’t even said my name once. I don’t know how I feel about being a ‘we’ if you haven’t even done that yet, __Rhysie.__  See, I already have a nickname for you. Where’s __my__ nickname?”

Rhys frowned, thinking  _ _a__ _ _sshole__  would be a good nickname.

Wilhelm laughed. “Something tells me there’s a lot of nicknames he wants to call you.”

“At least we’d be talking and working through our problems!” Handsome Jack huffed.

Rhys’ frown deepened.

“Okay, you love birds, we’d best get a move on. Time is death.”

Handsome Jack pulled Rhys along, his hand still around his waist. Rhys pushed it off, only for Handsome Jack to rest it over his shoulder. Rhys sighed. They walked past the bodies, Wilhelm picking up spare ammo.

“Shouldn’t… Shouldn’t he… Get dressed? I mean, we’re going into battle…” Rhys whispered.

“He’s got a point, Wilhelm, you’re going in stark ass naked. Are you planning on shifting again?”

The large grin told them everything. Rhys nodded and tried not to look forward at all. It would be a long and awkward hike. And it wasn’t just awkward because they were face to ass with Wilhelm, but because Rhys was still attached to Handsome Jack and kept forgetting it. The heat soothed him once they were away from the bodies and Rhys started enjoying the environment once more. He kept trying to leap onto rocks, only to be yanked back. The two would stumble to the ground, their limbs tangling. Handsome Jack swore and finally wrapped his arm back around Rhys’ waist. When he tried to pry it off, Handsome Jack just growled at him. “If I let go, you’ll just friggin’ jump again and I’m too damn old to be this bruised, especially if there’s no happy ending.”

Rhys understood his innuendo. He ignored it. It was definitely surprising how flirtatious and needy Handsome Jack was being. There were no rumors about this side of his boss and Rhys was not prepared. He kept telling himself it wasn’t personal, but Rhys couldn’t help the feeling that it just might be.

Still, Rhys felt trapped. He wanted to bound and jump and climb. To lay in the sun and soak it up, but he was too busy stumbling and being held back by Handsome Jack. Rhys’ face was flushed with embarrassment. He was always clumsy and he felt even more so now. But somehow, he didn’t get the impression that his boss felt the same way. He helped Rhys everytime he stumbled, keeping him balanced and helping him up a particularly steep part. He hooked Rhys tight to him and lifted him, easily pulling him up.

Handsome Jack smirked. “I could just carry you the rest of the way.” The way he smirked had Rhys blushing. He kept his eyes on the ground, watching his steps. He didn’t see the pout on his boss’ lips, but Handsome Jack spoke again. “So, cupcake, why the enhancements?”

“I liked the idea of them helping me advance in my career.”

“That cute ass is what helped you advance in your career,” Jack said, picking Rhys up once more.

“And here I thought you were a man of substance,” Rhys snapped under his breath.

This made the man laugh. “Oh, I have more than enough substance. I liked your brain in the elevator, but when you walked away, your ass is what made me follow. That, and I don’t like being ignored, which you are a master of doing.”

Rhys, ignored that.

* * *

Wilhelm crouched behind a rock. They crouched next to him. He pointed to where Bandits patrolled an opening to a cave.

Rhys shook his head. “There’s too many of them!”

Wilhelm eyed him. “Quit being a pair of balls.” Wilhelm grinned then, “I’m great at killing.” He left them and made his way down. Handsome Jack stayed put, bracing his gun on the rocks and aiming. From the side, Wilhelm, in polar bear form ran at the men. They shot at him. Handsome Jack shot at them, distracting and wounding them. Wilhelm swooped in, finishing them off. When he entered the cave, the two moved down.

Wilhelm had decimated everything as they walked in. They could hear gunfire and shouting ahead of them. Handsome Jack began to run, taking Rhys with him, but stopped suddenly and hid them both. Rhys’ ears perked.

“I hear two people arguing,” Rhys whispered. “About… another person…”

He nodded. “I thought I smelled a non-Pandoran. That’s my informant.” Handsome Jack pulled Rhys towards the noises.

“What about Wilhelm?” Rhys asked. “Is he going to be able to kill all those people? He’s surrounded.”

“Those are his favorite odds. You say __his__ name now, huh?” Handsome Jack huffed. “It’s cause he’s naked, right?”

“Why are you obsessed with that?” Rhys finally asked.

“I wouldn’t have to be if you gave me the time of day,” Handsome Jack whined. “Ya know, I’m really feeling like our relationship is one-sided.”

“I’m your PA!” Rhys whispered. “And I haven’t even been that for two weeks! How is there any relationship?”

“ _ _I’ve__  felt a lot of chemistry between us.”

Rhys frowned. “Is now __really__ the time?”

“Well, when would be a good time?” Handsome Jack demanded.

Rhys could not believe what he was hearing. He was whining because Rhys was too damn afraid to call him by his name. In the middle of a battle, Handsome Jack was starting a ridiculous argument. Rhys had no idea where it came from, and definitely why it mattered so much anyway.

They heard voices through a cracked door.

“How… How the hell did you let this happen!?”

“It wasn’t my fault!”

Handsome Jack burst through the door. Pointing his gun at the two men in the room. One looked like what Rhys thought Toby Horrendous looked like and the other was a bandit. “Guess who, losers?! That’s right! Handsome Friggin’ Jack! Now, hands in the air and all that!”

They stared at Jack and Rhys. And then at Jack’s crotch. Toby Horrendous pointed at it. “Why’s he groping you?”

Face flushed, Rhys finally burst out. “I’m not groping him! My hand’s stuck!”

They began to laugh. Rhys huffed and wished he could cross his arms. Handsome Jack pulled the trigger of his gun at the ceiling. Bits of cement fell to the ground.

“HEY, WOAH!” Toby Horrendous shouted. “Shit, jeeze! What’s your problem, dude!?”

“I’m looking for my informant. You just stole him from me.”

“Oh…” They looked at a lifeless body in a corner of the room.

The two followed their gaze. “What the fuck?” Handsome Jack demanded. “He’s dead!” He stormed over to them, dragging Rhys. “Why is he dead!?”

They cringed. “He got shot by a stray bullet! He lost too much blood! He died like five minutes ago!”

In a fit of rage, Handsome Jack shot them, killing them. He screamed, throwing whatever furniture in the room he could grab. He trashed the room, pulling and dragging Rhys, kicking Toby Horrendous and then put more bullets into him.

“Jack stop!” Rhys yelled, grabbing at his arm.

Almost instantly, Handsome Jack stopped shooting. He looked at Rhys, his eyes wide, his mouth turning into a grin. “Did you… Just…?”

Through the door entered a large bruiser. He charged for them. Jack shoved Rhys out of the way, but was caught by the bruiser, yanking Rhys. They slid on the ground. The bruiser charged once more, his large gun aimed for them. Handsome Jack unloaded his weapon, but ran out of bullets quickly.

Rhys scrambled away, falling and pulling Handsome Jack in a blind panic. The bruiser missed them, but only barely. Handsome Jack cursed and got to his feet, scooping Rhys up and running to the door. As he exited it, Handsome Jack threw a grenade. He hauled Rhys as far away as possible before it ignited and blasted everything around it. He threw both of them behind an object, shielding Rhys from any debris.

When the dust settled and Handsome Jack shook off the rubble, he smiled down at Rhys, who lay under him. “You said my name. You __do__  care.” Jack’s grin was goofy and happy.

Rhys frowned.

He pulled Rhys up and dusted him off. “Hey, you look pretty damn cute all ruffled up. How do I look? Hot, right?” Handsome Jack posed.

Rhys looked him over. Yeah, maybe if he wasn’t a thousand percent done with everything, he would have drooled a little. But he just turned to look at the destruction Wilhelm had created. The man was walking towards them, naked.

Wilhelm looked at the damage Handsome Jack had caused. He smirked. “I’ve known you to have some tantrums, but this…”

“Shut up. The friggin’ informant got shot in all this friggin’ chaos. Plus there was a bruiser and I’m out of ammo.”

Wilhelm began to laugh. It was loud and echoed around them. “What idiots! Shooting the first clue to a vault!”

“Yeah, well, what a waste!” Handsome Jack huffed. He turned and walked away. As he pulled Rhys with him though, he smirked proudly. “Not a complete waste though.”

* * *

Handsome Jack lead the way back to his car. Wilhelm did not follow. Rhys was curious as to where the man was going, but didn’t ask. The walk back to the car was eerily uneventful. Handsome Jack was on high alert, keeping them guarded and tight against buildings. His arm was firmly and immovably around Rhys’ waist. Rhys kept trying to push it off, not liking how trapped it made him.

“Would ya knock it off, cupcake?” Handsome Jack finally said.

“Why is it even there?” Rhys asked, poking at the hand.

“To keep you from jumping or running or stupidly trying to pull your arm off. You’re an idiot in danger.”

Rhys frowned. “Because I spend all my free time gallivanting around Pandora every weekend, or killing just for the fun of it.”

Handsome Jack’s brows rose and he smiled. “You’re just precious, Rhysie.”

Rhys stopped. He glared at his boss. “How!? How am I precious!? I’m so scared right now, I don’t even know what I’m saying and you think that’s precious!?” he was breathing heavily.

Jack’s grip on Rhys tightened, making Rhys wince. With a smooth motion, Jack pushed Rhys against the building, forgetting that they were attached. He stumbled, falling forward against Rhys. He thrust out a hand to brace himself, but he was too close, his elbow crashing against the wall. His eyes squeezed shut, the pain rippling through him. Then his eyes shone through his mask at Rhys, his teeth gritting, his voice low.

“Let’s get something straight, sweetheart. The last thing I want in the world, no, the friggin’ universe, is for you to be afraid of me. Ya got that? Handsome Jack likes fear, but Jack- __me__ \- I don’t like that. I don’t like ya thinking I get off on your fear.”

Rhys swallowed.

Jack’s eyes trailed down to Rhys’ neck. Then, slowly, it returned to Rhys’ gaze. “I made a mistake in taking you with me, cupcake. I thought it would be fun, a nice bonding experience. But all that happened is you almost got killed. That’s not an option for me.”

Rhys stared at Jack, his eyes large orbs. “Wow… I… I didn’t know you cared so much… I was going to say ‘I told you so’ for dragging me into a dangerous situation, but honestly?” Rhys smiled, genuinely happy. “Thank you for sharing that with me, Jack.”

If Jack had wanted to start an argument about having been “told so,” he did not show it. His eyes were narrowing on Rhys’ lips. “That’s the first time you’ve actually smiled at me.” Jack smiled and pulled Rhys to him, an arm his waist again. “Let’s get back to Helios, cupcake.”

This made Rhys droop. “Do we have to? It’s so warm here.”

A loud, wholesome laugh came from his boss. “Now __that__  is something I’ve never heard! Someone __wanting__ to stay on Pandora! You are just too precious, Rhysie! Yes, yes we do need to leave, we’re being followed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


	6. What a Cat-astrophe!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Few! Rhys is home safe and sound! Or is he?????

They were being followed by bandits. Rhys could hear them now, but Jack had smelled them first. They were close, but not so close enough that they were gonners. Handsome Jack lead the way, keeping their pace even, but marginally faster than a normal gait.

“How good can you run?” Handsome Jack asked. He punched something into his watch.

“I’m an okay runner, but stuck as we are? I’m not too sure…”

“Well, then I’ll just have to carry you. They’re going to notice we’ve noticed. Get ready.”

“Wait, ready for what?” But as Rhys asked, Handsome Jack scooped him up and began to run. He was fast and agile. It was amazing, especially when he was carrying Rhys. The bandits screamed and chased after them. Rhys looked around Jack’s broad shoulders, letting him know when one was too close. Handsome Jack handed the gun to Rhys.

“What the hell do you want me to do with this!?” Rhys asked, panicked. “I’ve never shot anyone in my life before!”

“I can believe that. You don’t have to kill them, just maim them!”

So Rhys shot at them, missing completely.

“Don’t shoot with your eyes closed! Dammit, Rhysie! Look where you’re shooting!”

Rhys flushed, hating that he’d been caught. He looked at the little psycho midget that hap-hazardly ran after them. He aimed and shot, hitting it in the shoulder. It continued to chase them.

“They’re still-”

Swearing, Handsome Jack took the gun back, turned and aimed, pegging it squarely in the head. He turned back around, handing the gun back to Rhys. “Wow…” Rhys said. “You’re amazing…”

Jack grinned wide and proud. “Glad you finally think so.”

There was noise. Rhys perked his ears. A car. He looked ahead and saw Handsome Jack’s car, driving towards them. It stopped a hundred feet away and they ran to it. When they reached the car, Jack took the gun again and shot at the closest ones while Rhy leaned over to open the door. They were tangled and awkward and Handsome Jack fell into the seat, having Rhys grab the wheel and turn them around while he pressed hard on the gas pedal. They hit psychos and midgets as they reworked their position.

When they had all body limbs inside, the door was pulled shut and Handsome Jack let off the gas. They were shot at, but the car was bullet proof. He righted himself and then helped Rhys. Rhys was once again sitting in his lap, encircled by Jack’s arms. They drove away from their pursuers and then lifted off into space.

Once in the sky, they relaxed. Rhys’ breathing calmed and he found himself nodding off against Handsome Jack. He bobbed his head up when it rested on the man’s chest.

“Just relax, cupcake and savor this moment,” Jack smirked.

Rhys grunted and mumbled. “You smell like blood…”

Handsome Jack laughed. “Well, next time I’ll take a shower and get new clothes.”

“‘Kay,” Rhys sighed, finally nodding off.

He woke up an hour later, in space, Helios in sight. He rubbed his eye and looked around. Handsome Jack had passed out too, his arms resting on Rhys. His face grew hot as he realized they’d been cuddling. He tried to sit up, but Handsome Jack’s arms tightened, pulling him back. So Rhys sat there, blushing furiously, not sure what to do. He’d realized somewhere in the last day that he’d developed a very small, huge crush on the man. He blamed the endless flirting and milkshakes. Every time Jack flirted, it just unsettled Rhys even more. He did not know what to do about this realization, if he should even do anything about it. He hadn’t expected to crush so hard. 

He was sure Handsome Jack did not feel the same way he did. Flirtation was probably something he did to everyone. And besides, Handsome Jack was his  _ boss _ , he couldn’t muddle that up by a few heartfelt moments. It was hard to be reasonable, though, when that same boss was holding Rhys as tight as he was.

In fact, he found himself sniffing Jack again, taking in his scent under all the blood. It was familiar, warm, and comforting. He was more than positive Jack had saved his life repeatedly on Pandora and now Rhys associated that safety to Jack’s scent. It was odd. Before today, he’d been uneasy, even afraid of Handsome Jack. But  But now, he was definitely was more comfortable around him now.

“You’re not sleeping.” 

Rhys jumped.

Jack pulled him closer. “This is nap time, Rhysie. Sleep.”

“I can see-”

“Shh! No talk about that damn place. We’re here. We’re napping.”

“We’re…  _ Cuddling _ …” Rhys whispered, his face hotter than before.

He felt Jack smile against his skin.

Rhys frowned. “How… How long is… Nap time?”

“Forever,” Jack said easily.

Rhys laughed.  _ More flirting _ . It was something he wasn’t used to, especially empty ones. He decided to relish the moment, though, and relaxed into Jack. He loved cuddling and he loved naps. And one time napping with the boss would be fine, especially when he was wanting the same thing. It wouldn’t make things awkward afterwards. Not at all.

So he closed his eyes and the next time he opened them, the car was telling them they were close enough that the autopilot was turning off. Handsome Jack stretched and took control once again. Rhys stretched as much as he could and was careful not to wiggle too much. He looked at the large and intimidating space station that Helios was. He felt a small dread in the back of his mind. He would be back to dodging Vasquez. And Handsome Jack about Vasquez.

The hanger door opened and Handsome Jack pouted. “Now we gotta get your arm fixed.”

Rhys quirked a brow. “You want my hand on your crotch indefinitely?”

Handsome Jack’s grin widened and Rhys flushed. He smacked Jack lightly on his chest. Jack grabbed it and kept it there. “As long as it’s you, Rhysie.”

Rhys rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, it’ll be hard to intimidate with a hand always there.”

“On the contrary, it throws people off which gives me the advantage.”

“And when I have to go with you into a stall to pee? Or shower?” Rhys asked as the car came to a stop in the parking area.

“We could get married and then it’d just be natural,” Jack said, shrugging.

Rhys laughed, but his cheeks heated.

They stumbled out of the car and Handsome Jack looked at the damage. “Huh… Not my best work. Normally, I have to get another car because there’s too much damage. I was too worried about you to care. We’ll just have this one destroyed and I’ll have a rumor spread that it got disintegrated to dust.”

Before Rhys could say anything, Handsome Jack ushered him into his private elevator and hit the button for the robotics floor. “I should give you the password for the private elevator, in case you ever need it.”

“Wow! Really?”

He nodded. “It’s Angel. Capital ‘A.’”

The doors opened and they went onto the floor. Why would Jack’s password be Angel? Who was this Angel if it was a name that meant something to Jack?

The workers hid their snickers extremely well, especially when they realized it was their Rhys attached to Handsome Jack’s crotch. He knew there would be memes floating around in his email box tomorrow.

“I’m sure everything can be handled easily,” one of them said. Rhys glared at them, getting the pun perfectly. They smiled politely and set to work. Oh, Rhys would absolutely need to be thinking of comebacks. He would need to prepare. This was something he would not be living down any time soon.

With some difficulty, they managed to demagnetize the arm from the belt and got the belt off Handsome Jack by cutting it. Rhys particularly glared at that. Handsome Jack flashed a very charming smile. He then bid Rhys a goodbye after being assured.

“You sure? I could stay here and make sure they do their jobs above perfect?” Jack eyed him.

Rhys waved him away. “I’m fine. They’ll reattach the arm and I’ll go home and shower and sleep for a week.”

After a long moment, Jack nodded and left. “See ya tomorrow, Rhysie.”

The moment Handsome Jack left, the jokes came. “Was he too much to handle, Rhys?” “It’ll be easier to handle than Handsome Jack, don’t worry.” On and on. Rhys was too tired to defend himself and just laughed.

When his arm was rebooted, they had him detach it to look at his shoulder to make sure he hadn’t damaged anything. There was major bruising at the very least. The blood in that area was his, which meant there was tearing. Rhys frowned. He hadn’t felt any pain and there hadn’t been a lot of bleeding or one of them would have noticed. He kicked his stupidity as one of them cleaned and bandaged his shoulder. He’d gotten lucky, no stitches were necessary. He was even able to get his arm reattached, though he was ordered to take it off every two hours for two hours to let his shoulder rest at the very least.

Rhys agreed and left, thanking them. He wondered if Jack would notice.

In the elevator, when he was finally alone, he checked his messages. There were several from both Vaughn and Yvette. Rhys looked through the texts from Yvette first. They had gotten a letter. An eviction notice. They had seventy-two hours to pack up and get out. Where was Rhys? Vaughn had stress- shifted and had turned into a horse. And then nothing more. In an instant response, Rhys’ adrenaline kicked into high gear once again. He hadn’t been able to answer his messages because of the incident with the magnetized belt. He hadn’t known. How much had they worried when he hadn’t answered?

The elevator opened and Rhys’ nostrils flared, warning him. He looked up to see Vasquez’s triumphant smirk. Quickly, Rhys moved to escape being trapped in the elevator. He did not want to deal with this right now.

“Hey, there Rhys!” Vasquez blocked the way. “I knew you’d be taking this elevator after I saw you with the cybernetic dweebs.”

Rhys, primed and now fully on adrenaline, slipped under and past Vasquez. He just knew that it would be the biggest mistake to get stuck in there with him. Vasquez would be able to stop the elevator in the middle of floors and be undisturbed for however long he wanted.

Vasquez gripped Rhys’ arm tight as he passed, stopping him from completely escaping. He tried to pull Rhys back into the elevator. “C’mon, now Rhys, I just want to talk.”

Rhys glared. He was too tired for this, too wired, too panicked. “Let me go.”

“No, I don’t think so, not when I’ve come across this very rare time when we’re alone.” The elevator doors closed, only to be reopened by Vasquez, who still had a foot inside. “Let’s go, Rhys. We have things to talk about.”

Rhys was exasperated. “Like what!?”

“Like a notice you received today.”

It took Rhys a moment to understand. And when he did, his anger flared. “You son of a bitch! Why didn’t I just tell Handsome Jack who you were?”

“Because deep down, you really do love me, and you can’t deny it. That’s evidence enough.” He tugged Rhys to the elevator.

No. This could not happen. Vasquez pulled Rhys closer and Rhys kicked out, pegging Vasquez in the gut. For a split second, Vasquez’s grip loosened and Rhys pulled his hand out and ran. Vasquez followed. Rhys was fast, but Vasquez kept up with him. 

The wind was knocked out of him and he was dragged to the ground. Vasquez pinned him, his large body straddling Rhys. He leaned down to whisper in Rhys’ ear, his large hands gripping the back of Rhys’ neck and pulling him close. “Why are you always running away from your feelings, Rhys? You didn’t tell Handsome Jack about me, you obviously didn’t want me hurt, which means you care about me. You and your nerdy-ass friends got a little notice that’ll make you all homeless. Unless you become mine for as long as I want you.”

“I’d rather be homeless!”

Vasquez’s grip tightened, causing pain to ripple over Rhys. “Think this through, Rhys. If you’re homeless, you’ll be kicked off of Helios and you’ll end up on Pandora. You won’t do well there, Rhys. You’re too soft, too innocent. I can take care of you, you know I can. You’ll live in a nice apartment and you’re friends won’t have to move out. You know I’m perfect for you.”

“I’d rather be homeless.”

The pain increased, Vasquez’s hand moved to the front of Rhys’ neck, closing off his air pipe. “One last chance, Rhys.”

Through Vasquez’s clenched fist, Rhys forced words out. “Okay! Okay! You win!” For a moment, Rhys wasn’t sure Vasquez had heard him or believed him. But he released Rhys’ neck and Rhys gasped for air.

Slowly, and after another threat, Vasquez started to get off Rhys to let him up. Rhys turned and kicked Vasquez, aiming squarely for his manhood, using all his strength. The man doubled over, but snatched for Rhys when Rhys took off down the hall.

“Rhys!” Vasquez yelled, chasing after him. “If I can’t have you, no one can!”

This was his last chance. If Vasquez caught him this time, he’d either be dead or forever captured. He needed help. He needed Handsome Jack, but there was no way to get to him. The elevator, the private one. He knew the password, it would take him to safety. But it would only work if he got there in time for the doors to close fully before Vasquez reached it.

He had a good head start, but he wasn’t sure it would be enough. He needed more time. He ran into a room of cubicles and locked the door. There was a second door further down. He waited, listening for Vasquez. He banged on the door and tried to force it open. When it didn’t, Rhys heard Vasquez leave for the other door. Quickly and quietly, he unlocked it and waited. When he heard Vasquez by the other door, Rhys silently opened it and peeked out. Vasquez’s back was to him. Rhys carefully went out of the room and into the hall. He crept quietly backwards in case Vasquez turned around. When Vasquez went barreling into the rooms, Rhys took off in the opposite direction, straight for the private elevator. He ran into it, mashing the button to call for it. He hurriedly typed in the password, thankful that his memory had not failed him.

He could hear Vasquez searching for him, calling him, threatening his friends. The elevator dinged. The noise echoed through the halls. There was an angry yell and Vasquez ran into the hall. The elevator opened and Rhys got inside, hammering the close button as Vasquez grew nearer. Vasquez slammed into the doors as they closed.

He was safe now.

Relief washed over Rhys and he sank to the ground, covering his face with his hands. He shook, his adrenaline still raking through him. Vasquez was the reason Vaughn had stress-shifted. He was the reason they’d be losing their home. Rhys hugged himself. Vasquez had never gotten physical like that before. Sure, Rhys had always sensed danger was very much on the surface, but had never thought the man to threaten a life. Then again, that’s how Vasquez had gotten his job to begin with.

Rhys was shaking even more now and he was getting cold. Oh, so cold. And he was tired and he felt so worn. He could feel it start in his gut. The shifting. Rhys was beginning to stress-shift. He knew he couldn’t let it happen. Knew that when it happened that it would be days, even a week before he could shift back again. He wouldn’t feel safe or better until he knew everything was right again and even still, the effects might not wear off quickly. But Rhys didn’t move, didn’t try to stand or make his brain work it out. He was just too exhausted and frazzled.

When the private elevator opened up to the top most floor, Rhys was not human anymore. He left his clothes and his cybernetic arm behind. He peeked out of the elevator and sniffed the air of the large penthouse. It smelled familiar and safe. Cautiously, Rhys padded in serval form to find a place to hide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


	7. Dog-gone mad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack looks for Rhys and discovers more than he bargained for. He does not have the patience for this. Where is Rhys?

Leaving Rhys felt weird to Handsome Jack. He’d just spent a concentrated amount of time with his PA, and Jack had cherished every moment. Sure, it had been a huge mistake taking his adorable PA into huge amounts of danger. That, he’d admit, but damn, if it hadn’t been worth it. He’d been able to get Rhys to sit on his lap, something all too enjoyable and the man had opened up a little to Jack, actually talking to him and finally,  _ finally _ saying his name. And what a delicious thing that had been. Handsome Jack had even not cared that, for the most part, Rhys had been in his way, disrupting his flow. He was used to working around someone like that. He had a daughter, and she’d loved helping him around the house. Sure, it was definitely different than with his PA, but he was used to it.

He left Rhys to tend to his arm, not wanting to be more clingy than he had already been. So, he went to his office where Timothy was and checked up on what Jack had missed.

“You just got a PA, Jack, why… Why did I have to fill in?” he asked, annoyed, but too scared to act like it. He’d been even more terrified of Handsome Jack in the beginning, but after the years, he’d gotten a spine, which was good. Handsome Jack was a persona not to be weak.

Jack shrugged. “He came with me.”

Tim’s eyes widened. “You took your  _ inexperienced _ PA with you to that hell hole?”

Jack smirked, sitting in Rhys’ chair. It had Rhys’ scent all over it and that comforted Jack immensely. He had gotten used to that smell. It was a light earthy smell, almost like dirt with the lightest hint of a campfire. It was really refreshing and energized Jack. Which had been a good thing on Pandora, Jack had needed to protect that kid as much as possible.

Jack cocked his head to the side. “What animal do you think does a lot of jumping? It’s gotta be a carnivore.”

Tim’s eyes widened and he gulped. “I… I- what...uh… what do, what do you mean?”

“Not for you!” Jack waved a dismissal at Timothy. “My PA. I can’t figure that guy out.”

“And you want to do that?” Timothy asked, eyeing Jack carefully.

“Yeah, I do,” Jack said thoughtfully.

Tim’s eyes were the widest they could be. “You like him! Why else would you be so curious! You’re trying to see how compatible you two are!”

Jack just shrugged, letting himself be surrounded by Rhys’ scent. He sighed. “Well, I guess you should update me. What happened while I was gone?”

Timothy caught him up, told him about everything. He was very efficient which was what Jack really liked about the kid. Timothy had all the paperwork on the side in case Jack wanted to look back over it. Jack wouldn’t, and never had. Timothy was more dedicated with paperwork than Jack was. So he would just send it off tonight and get back to work.

Which is what he did. Timothy said goodnight and Jack got to work. He stayed in his office all night and only when he went for his upteenth coffee, did he glance at the time and realize Rhys was late.

Jack frowned. Rhys was never late. Rhys was early. He liked getting a jump on the day. He poked his head out to Meg. “Hey, Rhys contact you at all today?”

Meg shook her head. “No, which is strange. He’s always in contact with me. Likes to update me on your asshole-ery. Warns me what I might have to shield.” She pointedly stared at him. “It’s really nice being forewarned, you know? If you did something to that kid, so help me, Jack-”

Jack quickly put his hands up in defense. “I did nothing! I want the kid alive! I can promise you that!” In a panic, Jack’s words burst forth before he could think. “Give me the kid’s home address and I’ll go check on him!”

That satisfied Meg and Jack retreated. Damn, she was scary. Even for Handsome Jack. Meg had learned fast that Jack wouldn’t kill her because he needed her too much and therein giving her the ultimate power. That she used regularly.

His ECHO beeped and he looked at the address. Nodding to himself, he went out past Meg and into the elevator. He flashed a big, hopefully reassuring smile at Meg, who just watched him leave. Damn the woman was intimidating. 

The apartment that Rhys lived in was in a more expensive area than Jack would have thought Rhys could afford. He knew Rhys had roommates, but it was still in a nicer plot than he would have guessed. He knocked on the door. He heard noises, but no one came to answer it. Jack pressed his ear against the door to hear better, but the door swung open. Jack almost tumbled forward, but quickly righted himself. There were lights on, but Jack couldn’t see or hear anything. He shut the door, his hand on his sidearm, ready and waiting.

And that was when Jack was attacked at the ankles by something ferocious and small. Handsome Jack pulled his gun and aimed on instinct, but couldn’t see what it was. Claws and teeth scraped and bit and Jack ran away from whatever it was, only to trip on legs and go crashing down behind the couch. Groaning, he sat up, staring face to face with a large horse. Jack, startled, let out a surprised gasp.

“How the hell did I not see you behind here!?”

A small fox jumped in front of the horse and growled at Jack. It was white. An arctic fox. This was the tiny something attacking Jack. The fox growled, ready to pounce.

Jack put his hands up. “Wait! I’m looking for Rhys! I’m just here to look for Rhys! Is that you, Rhys?”

The fox continued to bar its teeth, but did not lunge at Jack. Jack took this as good enough and sat up slowly, even more slowly holstering his weapon. “I’m just putting this away.” He eyed the two of them. “Rhys?” he asked again, looking at either of them. The fox shook its head, sending a heavy sniff in Jack’s direction. Jack thought for a moment. “Are… Are you his roommates? Why… Why are you shifted? Rhys was only gone a day.”

The fox growled again, but the horse sniffed loudly, bringing its nose down to the fox and lightly nudging it. It looked at the horse and then seemed to grunt. It walked away, down the hall. It looked back at Jack, waiting. Jack knew this language and followed.

The fox lead him to a bedroom. It was slightly feminine, but mainly minimalistic. The fox stretched up a dresser, directly under a phone. Jack grabbed it and turned it on. There was no passcode, so he looked at the fox.

“You want me to go through this?”

The fox stared at him, its tail twitching in anticipation.

Nodding, Jack swiped the screen. It opened directly to messages to Rhys. He scrolled to the first message, telling Rhys they’d received an eviction notice. The rest were texts worried about why he hadn’t responded. Jack looked at the fox. “You guys are getting evicted?”

The fox growled and left the room, looking back at Jack. Jack set the phone down and followed. The fox lead him past the horse that still rested behind the couch, to a piece of paper on the kitchen counter. It was the eviction notice.

Jack’s eyes scanned over it. “There’s no explanation as to why you’re being evicted.” Still reading the paper, he moved to the door. “I’ll be back.”

He made his way to the main office. It was actually hard to find, which only lessened Jack’s patience. When he got there he, shoved through the door, slamming it behind him. The man behind the desk almost snapped at Jack, but upon recognizing him, choked down his words.

“H-Handsome Jack, sir! What a pleasure!”

Jack, not in the mood now, shoved the paper in the man’s face. “Explain this.”

The man smiled timidly. “It’s an eviction notice…”

“No shit, idiot, but why are you evicting this apartment. Are they late on rent?”

“N-no…”

“Have they gotten complaints from the other residents?”

“No-no…”

“Then why are they being evicted, numbnuts?”

“You… you told me to!” he squeaked.

Jack’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

Shaking, the man reached into his desk and pulled out a letter. “I… I was told to-to burn it, but it had your signature on it and-and I was gonna sell it…”

Snatching it roughly from the man, Jack read it. He frowned, shaking his head. “I didn’t write this! Do you see insults anywhere? If I were pissed at you, there would be swearing and name calling. There’s none of this in here. And that signature is forged.”

The man’s eyes widened. “Oh! Oh no!”

“Yeah, now, before I kill you, take the eviction off.”

Squeaking, the man shook his head. “I-I can’t! They’re locked in! They have to to move! It’s in the system that you created…”

Shit. Jack had done that. To spice things up and cause more drama among the workers. “Fine. They’ll be gone in three days.” He pulled his gun out and shot the man between the eyes. “But you’re gonna be gone before then.” The man fell promptly to the ground, dead.

A woman ran out and gasped, covering her mouth. She shook her head. “I told him… I told that idiot not to trust that man. It just didn’t seem right!”

Jack smirked. “Good, someone with the sense to use their brain. You’ve just been promoted. That letter was forged.”

The woman nodded, her eyes still stuck on the man. “He was just so intent on selling the signature, he didn’t care…”

“Who was the man that brought it to you?”

“He… He was in a suit and he was arrogant as all hell… I should call someone to come and clean this up… And I’ll need to notify his mother…”

“And about the eviction notice?” Jack asked, his arms crossed.

“I can give an extension of three more days, but that’s all I can do. I really liked those people. I’ll void the move out fees and the contract breaking.”

Jack nodded. “Good. Then we’re done here.”

Leaving the office, Jack went back to Rhys’ apartment. The fox jumped on him, and when he yelled, once more startled, it recognized his voice and released him. Jack frowned. He was really quickly losing any patience he had. Which was already minimal.

“Someone forged a letter from me to order your eviction. Someone was trying to get you guys out. I will handle finding a new place for you and I’ll hire people to move you out.” He thought for a moment and then called Timothy. When he hung up, he turned to the fox. “Timothy will be stopping by, he looks exactly like me, but isn’t as awesome as I am. He’s going to oversee your care and the packing. I’m going to find Rhys.”

And he left.

When he passed Meg, he ignored her, slamming his office door shut, loudly and angrily. He had not found Rhys yet, but had instead, discovered everything around Rhys. Who was that jackass who had threatened Rhys? Jack would kill him once he found them.

He sat grumpily in his chair, pouting. Where was Rhys? What had happened to him? If only he had stayed and waited for Rhys. If only Jack knew where Rhys had headed after getting his arm fixed. Jack eyed his computer blankly, thinking. And then it hit him. He could figure out where Rhys had gone. He had surveillance cameras everywhere on Helios.

Scooting his chair closer to the desk, Jack turned his computer on and accessed the cameras. He searched for the ones in robotics and rewound it until he saw the two of them. He let it play, watching them fix his arm. And then he watched Rhys get into an elevator. Quickly, Jack switched over and saw Rhys there, reading something from his ECHO. His facial expressions changed. If Jack had to guess, Rhys had just read the texts the fox had sent to him. The elevator doors opened and Rhys looked up, panicked.

Jack watched, following Rhys and watching him get attacked. He’d been attacked by some large man. The same man from earlier, the one who had threatened Rhys. He was threatening Rhys again and now choking him. And then Rhys was getting the upper hand, kicking and fighting and then running. Jack followed, his heart racing, his stomach threatening to upheave all its contents. Rhys was running  away now. To an elevator. Jack’s private elevator. Rhys slammed in the password and almost too close, the man Jack did not know slammed into the closed doors. Rhys was safe.

Rhys had been in the elevator.

Head and heart racing, Jack launched from his seat and went straight for his private elevator. It would tell him where the private elevators have been. He passed Meg again, and again, ignored her. He walked to the private elevator, but when he opened it, he frowned. Quickly, Jack stepped inside, hitting the button to close the doors immediately. He did not want Meg seeing Rhys’ clothes and mechanical arm laying in a heap on the floor. Rhys had definitely been in here, but why was he naked and without his arm?

“Oh. Oh, Rhys,” he said to himself. Rhys must have shifted after all the trauma he’d been through.  _ Stress-shifted. _ The hardest shift to come back from.

Stepping over the items, Jack found the database of the elevator and looked at the log. Last night, the elevator had made a stop at the penthouse. To Jack’s home. Jack punched the button to take him there. He needed eyes on Rhys to fully make sure he was okay.

The penthouse was dark. Jack hadn’t been there in a few days. It was enormous, and wrapped around to reach the elevators from both sides. Jack had walked the circle many, many times in deep thought about work. Carefully, he looked around as he knelt down, still inside the elevators. He grabbed Rhys’ clothes and arm and brought them into the place. He set them on a table and sniffed. He smelled Rhys, alright, but, beyond that, he couldn’t pinpoint where Rhys was. Because he’d been everywhere. He scent clouded the place.

Jack, worried as he was, couldn’t help but think about the scent of his PA in his penthouse. In his home. It was honestly kind of nice. But he forced those thoughts to the back of his mind. He needed to find Rhys. What kind of animal was he? He liked high places, the heat and he could jump really high.

He walked past the kitchen, not hearing the patter of paws creep up behind him. Then, Jack was jumped on from behind and a paw batted at his head and then the creature lunged off, pushing Jack. Too surprised, Jack did not see what Rhys was, but knew he was a smaller animal.

“Rhysie?”he called gently, straightening from a hunched position, “It’s Jack, ya know, your true love? Why don’t you come where I can get a good look at y-”

Once again, he was tackled, the paw batting at him. And then Rhys was off, hiding and waiting. Stalking. Jack crouched again, covering his head.

“What the frick, cupcake!?” And again Rhys passed, tagging Jack in the leg. Jack reached out to grab him, but only got a wisp of fur. Short, soft fur. Jack growled. This was getting old very fast. Jack tried to take deep breaths. He needed to remain calm. Rhys had only shifted because of trauma, Jack needed to coax Rhys, needed to be gentle.

Rhys glomped Jack’s legs, knocking him off balance to the floor. Jack swore. Loudly. And he did not move. He was too old to handle more than one fall. So he stayed there, fuming and trying to find a way to stop Rhys from making Jack want to kill him.

Suddenly, Jack sensed Rhys. He was close, off to the side, crouched and sniffing. Animal Rhys had never met Jack before. There was always a period where the animal needed to acquaint itself with its significant other. Jack would have to be patient. Did he chance a glance? Slowly, he turned his head.

“No friggin’ way,” Jack breathed. “You would be a friggin’ cat.”

Crouched and eyeing him with a mechanical eye, was a small, three legged feline. It wasn’t a domestic cat, it was way too big and feral looking. It was golden brown with dark brown spots. It reminded Jack of a cheetah, but this- Rhys- wasn’t a cheetah. He was no taller than a medium dog, and most of that was taken up by legs. He was all legs even in animal form. Jack smirked at this. Rhys’ ears swiveled. They looked larger than his head. That explained his good hearing.

Suddenly, Rhys stood and walked cautiously towards Jack. Jack stayed still. Rhys sniffed at Jack’s hand, resting on the floor to extend his only front paw to bat at Jack’s hand. Jack gently turned it so his palm faced the sky. Rhys backed away, ready to bolt. Jack tried to calm his breathing. He remembered how skittish Rhys always was and wondered how much of that was Rhys and how much of that was his animal. He guessed it could be both. His doppelganger Tim was like that. His animal was a sheep and Tim was very, very timid.

Rhys inched closer again, keeping a close eye on Jack and his movement, ready to bolt if he needed to. He sniffed Jack’s hand, batted it and even nibbled it a little. Then, Rhys licked it. Jack, hopeful, extended his hand to pet Rhys. Rhys, bolted, jumping on Jack stomach and bounding away.

When Jack got his breath back, he slowly stood and made his way to the elevator. To safety. He was pounced on twice by Rhys before he got tod the elevator and left the penthouse. In the elevator, he leaned against the wall. Well, this was his life now. He needed find out what kind of wild cat Rhys was and he needed to do it fast. He needed to be able to help Rhys de-stress.

In his office, he got onto his computer and typed in ‘small wild cats’ and clicked on the first link. He was glad when he saw pictures next to the names. He scrolled through them carefully, looking for one that looked like Rhys. When he was almost at the bottom and almost out of hope, he caught a picture and stared at it. Almost the same pattern. The same long, large ears. It looked almost exactly like Rhys. Rhys, the Serval.

Jack sat back in his chair. Servals weighed the most of forty pounds. Jack drank this information in. Jack was a large wolf. He was larger than normal, weighing in at one hundred and eighty pounds. He was easily recognized as an alpha. And his PA, his Rhys, wasn’t even a forth of that. It was going to be a challenge with their compatibility, but Jack was more than willing to work it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


	8. Feline Better.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys warms up and Jack learns to cope without his favorite pillow.

Jack returned to the penthouse, now armed with knowledge. He’d spent the last few hours researching servals and watching videos. The elevators opened and he made his way to the thermostat. He liked it cold in here, but Rhys would freeze if it stayed this cold. He turned it up to- what did he say he was used to? Sixty? That was a little too warm for Jack, but he would survive. He needed Rhys comfortable. And when Rhys was comfortable, Rhys would be more relaxed and willing to meet Jack.

His next thing to do was his backyard. It was enclosed and made specifically for Jack’s animal side, but for now, it was going to be for Rhys. He had two of them, on either side to the living room. He went to the computer next to the doors and booted it up. He entered the climate that was right for Rhys and then hit enter. The room around him turned from cold and wintery into a dry, arid desert in no time. He also had it provide food for Rhys.

“Rhysie, kitten?” he said to the space around him. “Come and play, there’s a nice savanna for you…”

When there was no response, Jack stood in front of the door, to set the motion sensors off and open the doors. Heat blasted around Jack and he bit back a few choice words. He heard Rhys before Jack saw him. Rhys ran and then jumped on top of Jack, knocking him to the ground again. Rhys lay on Jack’s back, sniffing the enclosure. They were halfway through the doors.

“Well,” Jack grunted, resting his head in his hand, his elbow digging into the hard ground. “At least you aren’t afraid of me.” He watched Rhys sniff the air and look longingly into the room. Jack braced as Rhys lept from him into the hot and dry backyard. He watched Rhys bound and play and then lay down to sun bathe. His furry belly heaved heavily as his eyes closed. He rolled onto his back, taking turns on each side to scratch against the hard, dusty ground. There was so much energy in that tiny animal.

Jack went back into the house and was happy when the doors shut, leaving the heat on the other side. He watched Rhys thoughtfully. There were different ways to shift and different meanings to them. Rhys had shifted due to so much trauma and stress that the only way to cope was to revert back to his original form. It would take some work getting him back. Sometimes a person could shift before a stress-shift and avoid reverting to the more basic instincts. But Rhys had not been able to do that. That had been Jack’s fault. Rhys had probably been so exhausted from his trip to Pandora, that the added stress had been too much. 

Well, Jack would fix that. Starting by giving Rhys and his roommates a better place to live. Like the suite right under his. Then Rhys would be close by where Jack could keep an eye on him. And for that dead man who chased Rhys. He went to his office and shut the door. He needed to concentrate. He first called Meg and had her begin the process to get the suite ready. It was at least three times larger than the one they lived in now. 

Next, he would call Timothy and have him tell the roommates to get ready and to watch over the packers and movers. When Jack called though, he got no answer. Frowning, he tried again. Still nothing. “Are you frickin’ serious right now?” Now he would have to walk over to Rhys’ apartment instead of being here with Rhys. Jack sighed heavily. He made orders for people to arrive tomorrow and begin the packing. He scheduled the movers after checking back in with Meg. They would have to move someone, but she already had another place ready for them. Jack thanked her.

“You find Rhys yet? I swear, if you’re just pretending not to know because you’ve killed him-”

“I didn’t kill him!” Jack said quickly. “Honest, Meg! Why would I kill him? I love the guy! I’ve found him and he’s just fine, though he’s going to be out for the week.”

“Hmm,” she sniffed. “I actually believe you. You take care of him, Jack.” She hung up.

Jack shivered. That woman was scary. He’d always wondered what her shifting animal was, but had never had the guts to ask. He sighed and left his home office. Instead of taking a left and going directly to the elevators, he went right and took the long way around the penthouse. He did this to peak in the environment room as he passed. He looked for his three legged serval, but found no Rhys.

“Rhysie?” he called. There was no response. On high alert, he made his was way full circle to the elevators. “I’m heading out, but I’ll be back soon…” He felt stupid talking to an empty house, but he knew Rhys was there somewhere. He took the elevator and made his way to Rhys’ apartment. When he entered the place, it was quiet. The fox met him by the door, it circled him, sniffing. It stopped and reached up Jack’s legs and sniffed. Jack waited. It was smelling Rhys on him. The fox chirped and its tail began to wag. It ran to the back of the couch. Jack followed, but stopped, dumbfounded.

“You are friggin’ kidding me.” He stood, staring at a horse, and next to the horse’s belly, a sheep. Jack put his hands on hips. “Timothy, you idiot. I don’t even understand what was so scary, you turned into a friggin’ sheep! I know you’re jumpy, but shit, you’ve never turned because of me, and I’m Handsome friggin’ Jack!”

The fox chirped again.

Jack pointed to it. “That? That made you turn to wool!? You’re around Meg every day, but this pup does it?”

Jack screeched as the fox jumped up and nipped the finger pointing at it, clinging a little as he pulled away. He glared. “Hey! I don’t have time for this. You gotta start packing for your new place. I know you smelled Rhys on me, he’s safe and alive.”

The fox looked at the horse and crouched down playfully. It leapt forward at the horse’s face. The horse did not startle and the fox licked its companion’s face, making an excited noise as it did. The horse snorted, a large sniff leaving its bobbing head. It stood, making the sheep jump backwards. The horse was large and in the small- extremely small- apartment, Jack had to move into the kitchen so as not to get squashed.

The horse looked at the sheep and sniffed Timothy’s wool, nibbling it. Timothy made a strangled sound and stood. All at once, Jack saw the horse and sheep begin to shift. Jack turned to face away from all of them. The fox disappeared into its room. There was a momentary silence.

“I’m glad Rhys is okay!” Jack heard a male voice say.

Jack turned just enough, but then his eyes fell on the body that had been the horse. His eyes widened and he turned fully around. “Woah, you are… Ripped! Shit, cupcake, I gotta say  _ I’m  _ jealous of all that definition ya got goin’ on!”

The man smiled nervously. “Yeah, well, when you’re a horse…”

“Yeah, but… Those look rock solid, like damn. Who are you anyway?”

The man frowned. “Vaughn.”

“Right. And the fox? I mean, I know you’re Rhys’ roommates, but how was I supposed to know which was horse and which was fox.” He looked at a naked Timothy, who covered his crotch with his hands. “I knew who the sheep was, at least.”

Timothy glared. “Shut up.”

“Hey! Shut up and get dressed!” A female voice called. “I’m Yvette by the way!”

“Cool,” Jack said. Lower and to Vaughn, he said. “She’s a feisty one.”

Vaughn smirked a little. “I shifted before a stress shift, and she shifted to protect me, like she always does…” He trailed off on that last part. He sighed and moved to a pile of clothes. Vaughn picked them up and handed them to a furiously blushing Timothy. Vaughn smiled wide. “These are yours.”

“Th-thanks…” Timothy mumbled. “Where-”

“Here, I’ll show you,” Vaughn said picking up his own clothes pile. He set a gentle hand on Timothy’s shoulder and led him down the hall. The bathroom door closed and Vaughn went into another room. “You’re good Yvette!” Vaughn called.

The woman peeked her head out of the door and then went to stand next to Jack. She was in tight jeans and a blouse. She eyed Handsome Jack. “You. Handsome Jack, are taking care of Rhys?” she crossed her arms.

Shrugging, Jack couldn’t help the large, goofy smile. “We’re dating now.”

Yvette’s eyes widened. “Seriously? You two are dating?”

“Wait! Rhys is dating Jack?” Vaughn asked, stepping out into the hall with only one leg in his jeans and a shirt hanging over his shoulder. He slipped the other leg in as he walked down the hall, buttoning his jeans as the bathroom door opened. Timothy’s face reddened instantly as he saw Vaughn still undressed. Vaughn smiled at Timothy as he passed.

Yvette eyed Jack. “I smelled him on you, but I’m having a hard time believing this. And this talk of us packing for a new place? Spit it out. What’s going on?”

Jack instantly liked her. “Rhys full on stress shifted. I can go over the details later-”

“No, you will fill us in now,” Yvette demanded.

“Yeah, where’s Rhys?”

Jack explained what had happened. As he did, Yvette and Vaughn shared glances. Jack caught this. “You know who this prick is, don’t you?”

“Of course we do,” Yvette snapped. “But Rhys hadn’t told us how bad it was getting. Sure-” she hesitated, almost saying his name. “ _ He _ had been harassing Rhys, but Rhys never told us how bad it was. If I’d have known, I never would have agreed to not tell you his name.” Yvette glared at Vaughn. “I’m going to beat the shit out of Rhys for this.”

Vaughn nodded. “I’ll hold him. He should have said something.”

“Wait, Rhys made you promise not to tell me?” Jack’s eyes narrowed on them.

“Yeah, cause he didn’t want to be the reason the guy was killed,” Vaughn said, grunting.

“The man attacked him!” Jack yelled. “And Rhys defends him!?”

“Rhys is a softie,” Yvette said easily.

“His parents are hippies,” Vaughn said. “Do no harm.”

Jack frowned, unable to process this. “Do no har- the douchebag did plenty of harm to Rhys! The man almost killed him! Said if he couldn’t have Rhys, no one could.”

“HE WHAT!?” Vaughn and Yvette asked.

Vaughn pointed at Yvette. “I won’t tell Rhys you told Jack the name.”

“Yeah, but Rhys’ll know we both broke our promise. You wanna deal with that?”

Vaughn’s shoulders sagged. He looked at Jack though. “Hey, yeah, what did you mean by packing?”

“I’m moving you guys to the suite on the floor below mine. It’ll be paid by Hyperion through me, so there’s no way you guys could lose it.”

“I can’t believe that  _ bastard _ was also the reason we got evicted!” Yvette slammed her fist down on the counter.

Timothy jumped. Vaughn instantly put an arm around him, shirt still hanging on his shoulder. “Yvette,” Vaughn hissed. Timothy’s eyes were focused on the ground, his face still hot and red as Vaughn hugged him.

She looked at them and sighed. “Sorry,” she grumbled.

“I hired packers,” Jack said. “They’ll be over tomorrow to help you guys and then movers will be here to move everything. The suite is already furnished and a maid will come and clean once a week. That’s a gift that I’ll be tagging onto this dead man when I find out who he is.”

“Good!” Yvette said.

After a few more explanations, Jack left with a time and date set for when Yvette and Vaughn would visit Rhys. His mind turned over the conversations with Rhys’ closest friends. He tried to gain clues about who this attacker was, but they’d been really good to not give anything away. They were really loyal to Rhys. That was something Jack admired and he liked them all the more because of it. They may not be able to tell him, but Jack would find the man and Jack would kill him.

Entering the penthouse again, Jack walked the circle, calling for Rhys. Through the private foyer, into the entry gallery, where on the left, was his bedroom. There was a library nook attached to his room and on the opposite side was his master bathroom. It was luxurious and had two different entrances and two walk-in-closets with the very best shower and bath.

Passing Jack’s bedroom, he headed right to the dining room, where a guest bathroom was, along with a wine room on the right that had been converted into his office. On the left was the large table for large parties Jack never had. The kitchen was open and the center of the penthouse. Jack glanced inside it as he passed, but saw no Rhys. The living room was ahead. Jack checked the environment room, but did not see him. He left the living room and continued the circle, glancing in the sitting room and under the piano. 

Quickly, he checked behind the wet bar, in the media room next to it. Going to the end of his round, he checked the enormous laundry room and the two bedrooms opposite it. Both had bathrooms, but only one was a guest bedroom, the other belonged to Angel, his daughter. She was in college now, and wouldn’t be back for a while. Her room was the last and second largest with a walk-in-closet just before the bathroom. 

He came at last to the elevators and sighed. He had found no Rhys. Jack wondered if he should search every nook and cranny or if he should just let Rhys be. With a heavy sigh, he decided Rhys would find him when he was ready. He went to his office and shut the door. 

He sat down and decided it was time he got some work done. It took him longer than normal to jump in, his mind kept going back to Rhys. Would he be okay? What was he doing? Where was he hiding? But soon, Jack was focused on his work and didn’t look away until several hours later, when his eyes could not focus any longer.

He stretched and headed into the kitchen where he found a small bag of pretzels. He snacked on them as he padded to his room. When he flipped the light switch on, he frowned. His pillow was missing, the one he always used. It was shredded memory foam and Jack had become dependent on it. But now it was gone. He checked under the bed, in the closet and everywhere in the house, but found nothing.

Sighing, Jack turned away, not ready to handle this situation. He went to his bathroom, to his favorite sink, the isolated one, away from the bath and closets. He went through his nightly routine. Taking his mask off, washing and moisturizing his face. He brushed his teeth and sighed again. It was time to deal with his missing pillow.

He eyed the bed as he came out, eying the pillow on the other side of the king sized bed. It was normal, plain, not his pillow. He begrudgingly pulled it over and lay down. It was already uncomfortable. And shitty. He let out a low whine. This was going to be a tough night. He lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling, waiting as time ticked by and he still wasn’t sleeping.

He almost jumped out of bed when the door was pushed open, but he stayed absolutely still. He could hear Rhys sniffing the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Rhys, hunched low to the ground, go into Jack’s bathroom through the first entrance. Jack listened as Rhys nosed around, making his way around the U shaped room, coming out ten minutes later through the second entrance.

Jack slowly, turned his head to watch Rhys. Rhys’ eyes, glowing in the dark, looked at Jack. Rhys stayed where he was for a long moment and then slowly went over to Jack. Rhys stretched upwards, his front paw on the mattress and leaned in close to sniff Jack’s face. Then, Rhys jumped onto the bed, onto Jack’s stomach.

The air left Jack and he grunted in pain, but still didn’t move. Rhys walked over Jack and sniffed the rest of the bed. When he was away, Jack turned on his side, facing Rhys, in the fetal position, letting the pain wash over him.

Rhys moved to each corner and side, sniffing and looking around. Jack watched him through the pain. Rhys kept looking back to him whenever Rhys moved, making sure Jack stayed where he was. Finally, Rhys went back to Jack and crouched down, close enough for Jack to stick a hand out and let the serval sniff them.

“Hey, Rhysie, how ya doin’?” Jack cooed.

Rhys brushed his nose against Jack’s fingers and rubbed against them. Jack scratched Rhys’ head and then along Rhys’ cheeks. Rhys followed Jack’s hand until it was pressed against the bed. That’s when Jack heard it. A low purr began as Jack pet Rhys. After a few minutes when Jack’s scratching was not good enough, Rhys stood and paced, forcefully encouraging Jack to pet his full length. Rhys’ purr was now loud and excited and happy.

Jack had never heard anything so fantastic and calming. The purr reached deep into Jack and vibrated him. His heart. He felt his chest swell at how happy Rhys was becoming. Jack had only ever felt these things with Angel.

Rhys moved closer and sniffed Jack’s face, paying close attention to Jack’s scar. Rhys had never seen Jack without his mask before. Nobody except Angel had seen Jack’s scar and it had only been an accident. He hated his scar. Hated that it represented a dark moment in his life that he was forever stuck with now. Rhys’ nose pressed against the scar, his whiskers tickling Jack and making him want so badly to move away. Then, Rhys licked the scarred skin, his rough, sandpaper like tongue scraping over it. This time, Jack flinched away, startled by the sudden sharpness against the sensitive area.

Rhys jumped too, but didn’t leave. Instead, he moved on, sniffing Jack’s hair. Rhys purred and sniffed and then tentatively licked his hair. Jack stiffened, unsure. Rhys licked it some more and then flopped down around Jack’s head. Rhys’ front paw kneaded aimlessly as Rhys licked more of Jack’s hair. Jack frowned, wondering how excessive this was going to become. Rhys nuzzled Jack’s head, his teeth catching in the hair.

Jack winced, but this did not concern Rhys, he was really rubbing his face into the hair, his purring more excited than before. In no time, Jack’s hair was wet from all of Rhys’ grooming. It was not a good feeling, but Rhys was happy and Jack did not want to discourage that. Rhys turned, away from Jack, his body rolling over Jack and his face. Jack turned his head in the opposite direction. Rhys rolled back, his body curling around Jack’s head, his back paws resting on Jack’s shoulder. Rhys licked Jack’s hair, his front paw kneading Jack’s other shoulder.

That was how Jack, through no possible explanation, fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


	9. Going Mutts!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack survives Rhys' antics and love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Releasing a chapter so close to the last one??? Yes, cause it's my birthday in September and I wanted to gift you all with more chapters! I'll be releasing one for each of my fics, this one, the fluff monster, Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love. Awkwardly. And the domestic one, Through Thick and Thin, though that won't be released right away. I hope you enjoy all of them! <3

The next morning Jack looked with tired eyes at his mess of what had been his perfectly styled hair. Rhys had really done a number on it. He’d have to shower first and then style his hair. Jack stopped and looked at Rhys, curled in the warm area Jack had just been laying in. He watched the serval, his fur expanding and contracting as he breathed. Rhys’ eyes were closed and he curled around himself, a large grin on his face as his tail rested around him.

Jack smiled, his heart swelling with all the cuteness. What a happy kitty Rhys was. And, even though Jack looked tired, he felt rested, something even his prized pillow couldn’t do.

“That settles it, Rhys. We’re meant to be.”

Rhys looked at him, his nose hidden by his tail.

Jack looked at his hair in the mirror and then at the product he normally used. If this was going to be a habit of Rhys’, he would need to find some less harmful hair products. But all he owned were his expensive, chemically heavy stuff. He padded across the penthouse to Angel’s room and to her bathroom. Somewhere in middle school, she’d started refusing to use anything but natural things. Shampoo, conditioner, and all sorts of naturally made paraphernalia.

He searched through her cupboards. There were several half empty bottles of everything. Normally, this would have made Jack annoyed and he would have demanded she clean this out, but for once, he was happy. He could steal some of these things without her even noticing. He found everything he needed, though he wasn’t too keen to smell like strawberries or vanilla. He wouldn’t complain though. Rhys would be able to slobber all over Jack’s hair and not be harmed.

After his shower, Jack, in a towel, threw his clothes for the day on the bed. He went to the nearest mirror and eyed his hair. It didn’t look any different after using different shampoo. He applied some extra firm natural gel and was genuinely impressed at how well it held together.

He shaved, using some natural shave cream from Angel’s bathroom. He was surprised again when his jaw felt smoother than when he used his other cream. “Huh,” he said, reading the ingredients. Maybe this natural kick she was on had some merit. Some.

He went to his bed and pulled his shirt off it. When it snagged, he looked and found Rhys had one claw lazily hooked onto it. Jack frowned and tugged, moving Rhys’ arm as he did. Rhys pulled it to his mouth and chomped down on it.

“Hey,” Jack said, shaking the shirt. Rhys pulled and kicked it with his back feet. “Hey!”Jack said a little louder. He tugged again and Rhys let go of the shirt. Jack looked at the small hole Rhys had made. He shook his head and slipped it on. Then, he sighed heavily, eyeing Rhys, who was now laying on all his clothes. Jack went to grab his underwear, but Rhys grabbed his hand and bit it, turning to bunny kick it with his back feet. He stopped kicking after a moment and licked Jack’s hand. Jack was surprised at how gentle Rhys had kicked him. Sure, he had scratch marks, but they were light and less painful than when Rhys had nuzzled his hair.

“Rhys, kitten, this is adorable and extremely sweet, but I gotta stop by the office and grab some paperwork.”

Slowly, he reached for his underwear and then very quickly, pulled away. Rhys let him. Jack slipped into them and then went for his pants, the game repeated and each time Jack got a little quicker and better at gaining his clothes back. When he went for his socks, however, Rhys grabbed them in his mouth and ran out of the room.

“Hey!” Jack called. He sighed and grabbed another pair. When he was finally all dressed, he went straight for the elevator and went into it. He did not want Rhys following him, though he was guessing Rhys was too busy playing with his socks to bother.

He stopped first at Rhys’ old apartment to see if they had started their day yet. Yvette answered the door and smiled. “Come on in, Timothy’s already here.” She leaned into whisper. “Vaughn made him promise to come over for breakfast and try his famous pancakes. They’re only famous cause he makes them into shapes.”

Jack’s eyes widened and then he smirked. “Is someone smitten with my doppleganger?” They went to the kitchen.

“Course I am!” Vaughn answered. “Who couldn’t be?” he winked at Timothy. Timothy hid his face in his orange juice. “Try some of my famous pancakes!The first batch is just about done!”

Jack took a seat next to Timothy. Vaughn handed him a stack of four. Carved in the side was a weapon, famous for how sturdy it was. Jack stared at it and then burst out in laughter. “Oh, that’s too good!” He poured copious amounts of syrup on it and cut a large portion. He stuffed it into his mouth, the syrup dripping down the side. “These are really good too!” he said, his words muffled from the pancakes.

“Chew your food before you speak!” Yvette snapped. She sipped her coffee, irritated. “And I was worried about being able to tell you two apart. I’ll just wait five seconds and then I’ll know. Tim’s got amazing manners.”

Timothy smiled bashfully.

Jack nudged him with his elbow, laughing. “Don’t be so sheepish, Tim!”

Timothy rolled his eyes, “Don't wolf your food down, Jack.”

“Ooooh! Good one!” Jack did, however, take a smaller bite. “These are really good.”

Vaughn smiled. “Thanks, my grandma was a chef and my grandpa was a baker. They taught me everything I know. The orange juice is fresh too. So, how’s Rhys?”

Taking a large swig of the juice, Jack wiped his mouth. “Good, he’s getting used to the apartment.”

“And to you?” Vaughn said, eyeing him.

Jack smirked.

Vaughn smiled knowingly and turned to Timothy with some pancakes. Timothy froze as Vaughn set down a heart shaped stack on his plate. Jack smiled wide and handed Timothy some jam. Timothy did not like syrup. He evenly distributed jam on them and ate them. Jack caught the small, but very happy smile from Timothy as he ate and watched Vaughn move about. Good. Tim deserved someone that could make him happy. Someone who could stop making him be such a baby.

They ate and talked and laughed. Vaughn finally was able to eat his pancakes and he sat next to Timothy on the other side of Jack. And when Yvette and Jack were in an animated discussion about Hyperion, Vaughn stole a bite from Timothy’s plate and urged him to try Vaughn’s. There was no syrup on Vaughn’s but a different jam and he smiled wide when Timothy asked for another bite.

* * *

Jack returned to his office an hour later with a wonderfully full belly. He grabbed the large stack that was piled in the middle and went back out to the lobby. Meg eyed him suspiciously. Not because Jack was taking work to the Penthouse, but because Jack was smiling.

“Kill anyone today, sir?” she asked.

Jack’s smile faltered. “No…?”

“You’re usually only happy after you killed someone.”

Exasperated, Jack dropped the stack at the entrance of the elevator, papers spilling over, and went over to her desk. “Why are you so sure I’ve killed someone? Killing isn’t the only thing that makes me happy, Meg. Sex makes me happier than killing someone.” And Rhys made Jack happier than having sex.

“I have called Rhys and sent him emails and he has not responded.” She looked at him, her eyes dark. “Why can’t you just do what normal people do and just fire someone if you don’t like them?”

“I didn’t kill the guy, Meg! I like the guy! He’s a good worker- great worker!”

“Mhmm,” she said. “I’ll believe it when I see him.”

Jack sighed heavily and turned, there would be no convincing her. He picked the stack up, angrily shoving the loose papers onto the top and pushed the button for the elevator. He stepped in and just before it closed, when she wasn’t looking at it was safe, he stuck his tongue out at her. But then she looked up and saw him. The doors closed. Jack was frozen in fear. He was pretty sure Meg was going to kill him now.

When he got to the Penthouse, he looked around. There was no Rhys. Jack’s shoulders slumped, but he went to his office and shut the door behind him. He needed to concentrate. The walls were lined with slots for wine and most of them still had wine in them. Though, with all the lights that were almost always on in here, he was sure that the expensive, hundred year old wine was now hundred year old vinegar. He didn’t care one wit though and let the large stack of papers fall on his desk. He sat down and got busy, slipping on his reading glasses. He was deep in it, when he heard a soft scratching noise. He looked up, wincing when everything became magnetized and quickly took his glasses off to look around.

Under the door was a paw, aimlessly clawing at the air. Jack smiled wide, his heart melting. Rhys turned his paw to scratch the wood floors. Getting out of his chair, Jack crouched down next to the paw. It stopped scratch for a moment and then continued. Jack stroked the leg, gently.

Rhys chirped through the door.

“You did miss me, then?” Jack asked.

Rhys chirped again.

Laughing, Jack opened the door and looked down at Rhys, who still lay on the floor. Rhys looked up at him. After a moment, he hopped up, chirped and went into the room, brushing against Jack’s legs, his back arching, his tail flicking Jack’s jeans. Rhys looked around them, but did not leave Jack. Jack crouched again to pet Rhys. Rhys moved with the strokes, a soft purr beginning. Rhys’ tail flicked against Jack, his butt reaching high when Jack scratched it.

“Ya wanna hang in here with me?”

Rhys trilled and began to inspect the area. He sniffed around and batted at multiple things. Jack, after watching for a while, decided it was time to get back to work. He sat down and again put on his reading glasses. He read and signed and wrote notes, all the while glancing at where Rhys was in the room. When he’d inspected all items on the floor, he jumped onto a desk where miscellaneous papers and bits of material for prototypes were stored. Rhys stopped and sniffed and gently made his way around, zigzagging between them. He rubbed against the larger ones while knocking the smaller ones over or off the table. He slid a little when he walked on the papers and Jack jumped forward, not wanting Rhys to hurt himself.

Then, Rhys leapt from the current table to the one with the large experiments. He made the table shake, making everything else shake. Jack stood and went to him. “Kitten, I don’t think this table’s a good place to explore.” He grabbed Rhys around the middle and lifted him up, but Rhys did not want to leave. He hooked his paw onto the closest thing he could find, which was Rhys’ robotic arm. It slid off the table and fell onto Jack’s foot. Holding in a swear, Jack kept a tight hold of Rhys who’d panicked with the loud noise and had clawed onto Jack’s shoulder, where he let out a pathetic cry.

“Just calm down,” Jack huffed. He moved the serval to the next desk. It wasn’t Jack’s main one, but it was safer than the last one. Rhys was cautious and didn’t leave Jack’s arms right away when presented to it. He slowly stepped onto it. Jack went back to work. It wasn’t long before Rhys leapt onto Jack’s desk, stopping his flow. Rhys walked over Jack’s work and bumped his head into Jack’s masked chin. His purr started up again and Jack pet Rhys automatically. When Rhys walked enough away, Jack continued his work, signing a piece of paper, but Rhys was back and nudging the pen, making Jack scratch a long, deep line that tore through the top paper.

“Rhys!” Jack gasped. He threw the pen down and sat back in his chair. Rhys stepped into Jack’s lap and stretched up his torso to rub his head against Jack’s. He rubbed and rubbed, nuzzling once more in Jack’s hair. Rhys sniffed it deeply and licked and caressed Jack’s head with both Rhys’ head and neck.

“Seriously, Rhys, I need to get some work done,” Jack huffed.

Rhys continued to purr.

This was no good. Jack had to get some work done today. He hooked Rhys in his arms and stood. Rhys was a little nervous, but quickly recovered to continue fiercely nuzzling Jack. Jack went to the charging station he had and grabbed his tablet. He decided this would be a good time to relax on the couch and answer some emails. He went to the other side of the penthouse to the media room. Reaching the couch, he plopped Rhys down on it and sat down, keeping Rhys at bay until Jack was settled. Rhys stepped over Jack’s arm and stood on his lap to continue rubbing and and purring. Jack, for the most part, was able to read the emails, but had a difficult time replying. Rhys would bump his arm or step on the tablet. One email went out before Jack had finished because Rhys had stepped on the send button.

“Well, great,” Jack sighed. The sender had been talking about how confident they’d felt about the current project they were in charge of, but Jack wanted to make sure they would meet the timeline, but all he’d been able to write was “I’m not” and now Meg would be getting a worried phone call.

Setting down the tablet, Jack began to roughly and furiously pet and scratch and rub Rhys, hoping that it would somehow quench Rhys’ need for affection. It only made Rhys more excited and his need for Jack’s affection increased.

“Of course,” Jack said, but then he smirked. “You really can’t get enough of me, can ya, kitten?” Rhys purred and nuzzled Jack’s chin. Jack sighed and looked for the remote to the T.V. and turned it on. It was clear that he would not be getting much work done until Rhys was human again. As Jack scratched Rhys’ shoulders and watched some stupid documentary, he looked at Rhys. “You gotta hurry and get better, cupcake.” Rhys trilled and nuzzled Jack’s hair some more. He began to lick it, but quite suddenly, he began to bite it, chewing on it like a snack.

Jack quickly pulled away. “Hey!”

Rhys swallowed Jack’s hair.

Eyes wide, Jack took hold of Rhys’ mouth and opened it. “You just swallowed my hair!” He then covered his head with his hands. “You bit off my hair!”

Rhys purred.

Jack frowned. Rhys hadn’t gone that far last night, why was today any different? Jack closed his eyes. “Of friggin’ course. The gel’s strawberry flavored and that’s your favorite, isn’t it?” Rhys rubbed Jack’s head. Jack moved away and pushed Rhys to lay in his lap. He kept a hand steady, and pet Rhys’ head with his other hand. Rhys kneaded, purring loudly and finally settled down.

* * *

A few days passed and Jack and Rhys fell into their own routine. Jack would work wherever he could, but ended up giving in to the cuddly whims of Rhys. He was laying on the couch with Rhys stretched out on him, fast asleep. Jack smiled and watched Rhys’ stomach rise and lower. Jack lazily pet him, making him stretch and began to purr.

“Why can’t you be this relaxed around me in human form, eh?” Jack asked, scratching under Rhys’ chin. Rhys pushed further into Jack’s fingers, loving the affection. But Jack really, really needed to use the bathroom. Rhys moved, a back paw pushing against Jack’s bladder. “Ah, babe, you’re killing me.” He gently nudged Rhys. Rhys leaped from Jack harshly, disappearing in the penthouse. Jack rolled off the couch, holding his stomach and trying to catch his breath. He wheezed and crawled limply towards the bathroom, his urge to empty his bladder overflowing now.

When he reached it, he stood and shut the door forcefully on Rhys and his antics. He turned to the toilet and stopped. Rhys sat, proud and happy on the closed toilet seat. Jack growled. This was a habit Rhys had recently developed, wanting to always be in the bathroom with Jack. And every time, Jack never saw or heard Rhys slip in. In a desperate panic, Jack heaved Rhys into his arms and gently tossed him out of the bathroom, shutting the door quickly. He was alone now and relieved himself.

A low, pitiful yowl whisped under the door. He looked to see a paw helplessly wave around, until it finally latched onto the rug on the floor. Jack frowned as Rhys began to drag it under the door. By the time Jack had finished, washed his hands and dried them, the rug was gone and Rhys continued to yowl.

Quickly, Jack threw open the door. Rhys sat there on the rumpled rug. He went to Jack and rubbed against his legs, chrilling happily. Jack shook his head. “You are head over heels for me.”

Rhys mewed an answer, standing on his hind legs and reaching for Jack’s hand.

There was a loud chime that echoed through the penthouse. Jack knew what it was and went straight for the elevators to buzz Vaughn and Yvette up. “Guess who’s going to be here soon, Rhysie?” he asked, as Rhys fell in step with him. Jack took him to the elevators, anxious to see Rhys’ reaction when he saw his friends.

Circling Jack and rubbing against his legs, Rhys chittered at him. Automatically, Jack bent down and scratched his ears. The elevator dinged and Vaughn and Yvette stepped out, admiring the place. “Wow! This is ni-”

There was a scampering and Yvette ducked as Rhys leapt on her back, nuzzled her hair and leapt off. He bounded in a circle to jump on her back again. Yvette was ready and bent over, her back to Rhys. He jumped up and nuzzled more, growling in an overexcited way. Yvette laughed.

“Rhys, what about your best pal?” Vaughn said. Rhys looked at Vaughn and leapt from Yvette to Vaughn’s back. He dug into Vaughn’s neck before jumping off. He leapt at them several more times.

Jack was stunned. “So… That’s just a thing he does?”

Yvette nodded. “Yep! It was annoying at first, cause we weren’t ready for it, but-” she ducked as he jumped on her back. “It’s how he greets people he cares for.”

He did this a few more times to Vaughn, making sure to nuzzle him with drool. Vaughn winced, but didn’t stop Rhys. “Love ya too, buddy.”

Rhys jumped off and pranced around, stopping to rub against Jack’s legs. He interlaced his body, making figure eights around them. Vaughn and Yvette smiled. Vaughn pointed at Rhys. “Wow, he really likes you. I mean, it’s not like we didn’t believe you, but-”

“We didn’t exactly believe you,” Yvette said. She shrugged. “Seeing is believing.”

Jack nodded. He did understand.

Rhys chittered, walking away from the group. He looked back at them. Vaughn smiled. “He wants us to follow him.” They all followed Rhys. He took them through the kitchen, to the other side of the Penthouse, around the grand piano Jack never used, but kept tuned. And finally to the back, where the living room was. Jack had never used it as a living room. It was tucked between the two environments and looked like whoever had decorated the place had felt the space too big and empty. So there was a sitting area there, and in the corners, on each side, were two chairs.

Rhys lead them to the set on the left, right next to the doors of his environment. He slipped behind them. They all leaned over the chairs and looked into the little den it created. Jack gasped. “My pillow!” he went to snatch it, but Rhys stepped onto it and circled a few times before lying down on it. Jack, already at the pillow, decided to pet Rhys instead, making the serval purr. He looked around though, noting everything he’d been missing since Rhys had been here. “You little shit,” he whispered lovingly.

He heard giggling and looked back. Vaughn and Yvette were laughing. “We have never seen him do this before!”

“What?” Jack asked, standing. “You mean, he’s never made a nest before?”

Vaughn shook his head. “No! He normally just stays out in his habitat. It’s nice and hot there. I guess it makes sense though, since he needed a safe place, but,” And Vaughn looked mischievous now. “It’s interesting that he felt safe with all your things surrounding him.”

Jack thought for a moment and then he smiled, big and proud. “Well, he does love me.”

“Yes, he does,” Yvette said, more quietly. She pulled out her ECHO and snapped several pictures of Rhys, happily asleep on Jack’s pillow, surrounded by a throw blanket Jack usually napped in. Jack’s eyes narrowed on her. He needed those pictures. After Yvette sent them to both Jack and Vaughn, she crouched close. “Hey, Rhysie,” she said softly. “We’re okay, Vaughn and I. In fact, your man, Handsome Jack, here, has set us up with a new apartment, one floor below. It’s ridiculously ginormous, but hey, it’s on his tab. We’re safe Rhys.” Rhys cracked an eye open to look at her. He trilled and then went back to sleep. Yvette nodded. They moved away from the cozy, sleeping serval. “Well, hopefully that worked,” Yvette said.

“I think it did,” Vaughn said. They said their goodbyes to Jack and left.

Jack was thoughtful now. He padded into the kitchen, looking at where Rhys was sleeping as he walked. Rhys had collected Jack’s favorite pillow and throw blanket, along with other items for a comfort nest. It made him swell with pride. Rhys, though uncomfortable showing his affection in his human form, really did love Jack. It was impossible to wipe away the large grin on his face as he made coffee. He knew he’d been right. His Rhysie  _ did _ like him. Jack would have to buy more pillows though. At least two. One for him and one for human Rhys, whenever he felt comfortable enough to stay the night.

And then what Vaughn had said swept through his mind. Rhys normally preferred his habitat and would stay there the whole time. Jack’s heart swelled and his smile grew wider. Rhys spent more time in the Penthouse with Jack than the habitat.

He felt a gentle pressure at his legs. Rhys was rubbing up against him again. “You love me, don’t you, Rhysie?” Rhys looked up at Jack and mewed. Jack bent down and pet him, scratching along his back, just like Rhys liked. Jack grabbed his coffee and sat down in a bar stool, pulling his tablet to him. He needed to at least check his emails and make sure nothing bad had happened. He trusted Timothy to pose as him, but Jack was, he admitted, somewhat of a micromanager.

Rhys jumped up next to Jack and rubbed against him. Jack automatically pet Rhys as he went through the emails. It looked like everything was going okay. He felt and saw Rhys move, but Jack was too busy reading to notice. And, though he heard it in the background, it took him a while to look over to see what Rhys was drinking.

His coffee. “Hey!” Jack snapped.

Rhys leapt from the table, knocking the coffee over to spill and crash on the floor. Jack swore and set his tablet down. He grabbed towels and knelt over the mess. Rhys crouched just in the doorway, watching. Jack sighed looking at him across the kitchen. “I’m sorry, kitten. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

Rhys rubbed the wall.

Jack sighed. There was broken glass on the floor now that needed to be cleaned up.

Rhys trotted over to him.

“No!” Jack moved quickly, grabbing Rhys just before he stepped too close. “There’s a broken mug on the floor, kitten!” Rhys was heavy and Jack looked around for a place to stash the large cat where he’d be close to Jack, but not in the way. Sighing, Jack set him on the bar counter. “Stay,” he ordered. Rhys crouched down and lapped up the spilled coffee.

Ignoring the warnings in his gut, Jack let Rhys be distracted. He knelt down and picked up the large pieces. He made a quick trip to the garbage, moving fast so Rhys wouldn’t jump from the counter. Jack found a thick towel and cleaned the liquid up, scooping up as many tiny pieces as he could. When he threw the towel away and grabbed a second one, he resumed soaking up liquid and scooping up small pieces. And then Rhys hopped down from the counter to Jack’s back. Rhys nuzzled his neck.

Jack sighed. “It’s a good thing I’m used to this, or else this would be pissing me off.” Jack was referring to, of course, his daughter, Angel. His little otter, from his first marriage with a dolphin. Jack wasn’t sure how stable that marriage had been, but it had ended all too quickly when she’d passed away.

He felt the drippings of Rhys’ drool on his ear and shuddered. But he moved carefully around the room on his hands and knees, cleaning up the bits. He creaked and groaned, assuring Rhys that he was, in fact, too old for this. Rhys purred.

The monitor in the kitchen beeped, signalling that he was receiving a call from Angel. Grunting, he accepted the call. “You’re gettin’ scary, pumpkin, I was just thinking about you.”

He heard her soft laughter. “Yeah?- uh… Where are you?”

“I’m on the floor, cleaning up some broken glass.”

“Oh, is this a bad time?”

“It’s never a bad time for you, what’s up, princess?” Jack swiped up some stray glass.

“I was just confirming that I’m still coming home for the summer.”

Jack sat up on his knees to look at her. Rhys let out a strangled mew and clung to Jack’s back. Yelping in pain, Jack turned sideways to scoop Rhys in his arm. Rhys dangled over Jack’s arms, his back legs resting on Jack’s butt. Jack looked back at the monitor. Angel had grown since the last time he’d seen her. She had grown her hair out and flowers decorated her braid. She wore light makeup, which made her look too much like an adult.

She frowned. “Are you okay? I can only see the top of your hair.”

“Yeah, just feeling my age,” he answered. He trusted his baby girl with his life, but he didn’t want to overstep Rhys’ privacy. “Do you not want to stay here this summer?” Jack asked.

Angel was distracted, looking off to the side and speaking to some people. “No, shut up, I’m talking to my dad,” she hissed. “Yeah, well, it’s not my fault you don’t have a good relationship with yours…” she turned her head completely away from her ECHO. Jack adjusted Rhys as Angel spoke to whomever, her voice slightly faded. “Listen, my dad is my best friend and if I want to talk with him or spend my summer with him, I’m going to. Get over yourself.” Jack’s heart clenched. She returned to the screen with a smile, but then frowned again. “Dad? I still can’t see you fully, but I can hear you. Are you cr-”

“No!” Jack sniffled and wiped his eye. “So, you wanted to-”

“Double check that I’m still coming home for the summer.”

Jack smiled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. You summer begins, when?”

She gave him the information and they chatted some more, but then she had to run off. She blew him a kiss goodbye. “Love you!” She hung up.

“Love you too,” he smiled. He stood, cringing as his joints protested and carried Rhys into the pantry to grab the broom. He set Rhys back on the counter and swept the rest of the kitchen up.

Jack was proud of the young woman Angel was becoming. She was confident in herself and not afraid to speak her mind or make her own choices. Jack had made sure of it. And she’d called him her best friend. Jack felt the wetness behind his eyes. Well, it was just him in the house. He could let one teeny, tiny tear out. He knew it was a mistake when several fell after that. He wiped his eyes, only to have his vision blur once more. He scooped up the last of the glass and tossed it away. Rhys paced the length of the bar, his tail twitching. Jack hugged Rhys, who purred loudly, calming Jack.

“Thanks, kitten. I needed this.” He shoved his face in Rhys’ fur. Rhys leaned into Jack, wanting more pets.

And then the coffee kicked in. Rhys nuzzled Jack more wildly than before and when he pulled away from the serval, he leapt past him and out of the kitchen. He heard Rhys’ nails, tearing and sliding through the Penthouse. Jack blinked. “Holy shit.” He slowly left the kitchen to look in the direction Rhys had run. He heard Rhys before he saw Rhys. He ducked like Vaughn and Yvette had. Rhys jumped onto his back and then jumped away, running somewhere in the house, causing a crash. Jack sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


	10. Paws and think!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys shifts back and Jack does a dumb. Like seriously, someone smack this guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

It was a long hour before Rhys finally crashed from his caffeine high and had decided Jack’s lap was the perfect place to land. Jack sighed, at least he was finally catching up on his emails. When he was done, he looked around. It was after midnight. Time for bed. It took him a few minutes to rouse Rhys enough for Jack to feel comfortable sliding out from under the serval.

“I’m going to bed, Rhysie.”

As Jack made his way, a light yellow blur zipped past him. Rhys was on the bed, laying on Jack’s pillow, cleaning a paw. Jack sighed. “We’re going to have to talk about what you think sharing is when you’re human again.” Jack went through his nightly motions, removing his mask and moisturizing his face. He smiled when Rhys jumped onto the counter and sniffed at his mask. “You still love this ol’ scarred guy, right, Rhysie?”

Rhys stared at the mask for a moment and then batted it, knocking it to the floor. Jack huffed. Rhys stood, his tail high and went over to stand in front of Jack. He looked at the man and sniffed his face, rubbing against Jack’s chin and purring.

Jack found himself smiling and rubbing his nose against Rhys’ head. “Thanks, babe.” He stripped his clothes and crawled into bed. It wasn’t long until Rhys joined, falling into his routine of preening Jack before falling asleep, followed very shortly by Jack.

The next couple of days were pretty easy. Rhys napped and hung in his environment area, which gave Jack plenty of time to work. But, he found, he was having trouble adjusting to working without any distractions. It reminded him of when Angel had left for college. Jack had had to get used to an empty and quiet house. He kept busy, though, working through documents Tim sent him and making notes. But, without fail, when Rhys came in to lounge across his shoulders, Jack was able to better concentrate on work.

When he was done for the night, Jack clicked the desk light off and held Rhys on his shoulders as he stood. Rhys leapt off and padded into the bedroom, accustomed to this routine. Jack headed to the bathroom, where he disrobed, took his mask off and hopped into the shower. Jack washed quickly, not wanting to leave Rhys alone too long. He finished and toweled off, wrapping it around his waist. He padded out and into the bedroom. Where he saw human Rhys sitting on the floor, Jack’s pajama shirt in his mouth. Jack froze. Rhys let go of the shirt, startled. It bunched in his lap, draping over his leg.

Jack stared at Rhys, naked and tattooed on the floor while Rhys stared at a naked, scarred Jack, in a towel, without his mask on. Rhys’ eyes slowly moved over Jack, his brows knitting together as he concentrated hard. It was his first time ever seeing Jack’s real face. Rhys frowned and looked from Jack’s face to the bedroom. He did not seem to recognize Jack.

His voice was a hoarse, low whisper. “Where-” he coughed. “Where am I?”

Jack’s own voice was low and calm, but his body was rigid. “You’re in my bedroom. You stress-shifted a week ago.”

Frowning even more, Rhys rubbed his temple where his ECHO eye was. He was probably developing a headache. “I… I don’t understand… Why am I not at my apartment…?” he trailed off, trying to think.

“You were attacked after we got back from Pandora and you hid in my private elevator, which brought you to my Penthouse. Your same attacker evicted you and your roommates.”

“Oh,” he said. He frowned, then and he looked at Jack with panicked eyes. “But, then we don’t have a place to live!”

“I took care of that. You’ll never have to worry about losing your home again.” There was steel in Jack’s voice that caught Rhys’ attention and drew his gaze back to Jack. Jack’s gaze was dark and steady.

“Jack?” Rhys called to him, his voice thick with fog. He winced then and then rubbed his eyes. “Everything’s so bright…”

Without hesitation, Jack flicked off the bedroom light, making the glow from the bathroom, the only light source. “Better?” Jack asked harshly. “Are you hungry?”

Rhys shook his head. “No, just a… just a headache.”

“You need rest.”

“I don’t know where to go.” Rhys croaked. He looked up at Jack. “Where are Vaughn and Yvette living now?”

“In your new apartment. Are you well enough to stand?”

Rhys stared at him for a long time, squinting and then he shook his head. “I can barely think. It took me forever to recognize it was you. I don’t even understand most of what you’re saying.”

“I see,” Jack answered, his words tight.

Rhys frowned, his voice shaking. “I don’t know if I would have recognized Vaughn…” Water pooled behind his eyes and he sniffled, rubbing them. “I’m sorry, I just don’t understand anything right now.”

“Don’t,” Jack snapped.

Rhys jumped and looked at him, his eyes wide. “What?”

“Don’t apologize for what that bastard did to you, Rhys. You’ll stay here tonight.”

“Okay…” Rhys said, his voice quiet. He looked at himself. “I’m… Naked. I haven’t been naked since the last time I visited my parents.” He looked up at Jack. “Why am I naked?”

Jack frowned. “You really got messed up, didn’t you?” He crouched down next to Rhys. “C’mon, let’s get you into bed.”

As Jack tried to pull Rhys to his feet, Rhys didn’t move. “But… I’m naked…” he looked at Jack as if for the first time. “Your naked. Why are you naked?”

For a moment, Jack smirked, but it melted too quickly. “I was in the shower. Wait here and I’ll get us some pajamas.” He stood and went back into the bathroom where his closet was and grabbed two pairs of whatever pajamas he had. He paused in the darkness, clenching the clothes tightly. Human Rhys had seen Jack without his mask and had not recognized him. He should have known. Yeah, serval Rhys hadn’t cared, but of course not, he’d been an animal in his most basic mental state. His jaw clenched several times as he tried to catch his breath. Jack should have known better than to take his mask off. He would put it back on after he got Rhys into bed.

As he dressed, Jack grew pissier and pissier. _He’d hoped_. Really hoped that the first time he’d be in bed with Rhys as a human, it wouldn’t have sucked like it was now. Now, everything had gone to shit. If Rhys couldn’t look past his scars and burns, how were they supposed to work out?

He dropped the clothes in Rhys’ lap. Rhys looked at them. “What are these for?”

Jack stopped, his frown deepening, this kid was seriously messed up. “You’re naked. You wanted to wear clothes.”

Rhys frowned. “Oh.” He looked at himself. “Huh. I haven’t been naked with other people since I visited my parents…”

“You already said that,” Jack said, his voice cold and detached.

“Oh, sorry.” Rhys put the oversized shirt on. He held the shirt up that draped his lap. “Why do I have this?”

Jack snatched it away and threw it haphazardly in the bathroom. “There, now you don’t have it.”

Rhys fell silent. He swallowed, gritted his teeth and tried to move, but his face paled drastically. “Uh… Couldn’t I just sleep here, on the floor?”

Grunting in annoyance, Jack took Rhys’ only arm and hauled him to his feet. Rhys, trying to keep up, dropped the pajama pants and lost his balance, making Jack grab a better hold of him.

With all the movement Jack was forcing upon Rhys, Rhys covered his mouth. “Jack… I’m gonna-”

Moving fast, Jack rushed him to the toilet, opening it just as Rhys threw up. Jack swore. Taking a step back, he leaned over the counter. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his anger a little. He grabbed a glass from the side and filled it with water, refusing to look at his reflection. He shoved the glass at Rhys when he was done puking. Rhys, kneeling on the ground, tried to grasp the glass, but his hands shook too much.

Rhys sighed and rubbed his eyes as liquid spilled from them again. “I’m sorry, Jack, I just can’t do it…  I’m sorry, don’t worry about me, I know I’m being annoying and inconveniencing you. If you just help me call my friends, they can come and help me home and you won’t have to help me anymore… I don’t even remember why I’m here...”

Jack’s teeth gritted together as Rhys’ words stabbed into him. Jack wanted to kick himself for being such an ass, regardless of how Rhys felt about Jack’s face. Swallowing his anger as best he could, he knelt down and helped Rhys take a drink. He didn’t speak- couldn’t. When Rhys drank all of it, Jack set it on the counter. He closed the toilet lid and sat Rhys on it and then, with all his control, helped Rhys into the pajama pants. He then walked Rhys slowly to the bed and got him under the covers.

With that done, Jack stalked to the bathroom.

Rhys turned and watched, confused. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“I’m putting on my damn mask.”

“Why?”

This made Jack turn and glare at Rhys. “Why?” he echoed, his heart beating with anticipation he didn’t want.

“Do you sleep with it on? That seems like it would be uncomfortable.”

“It is,” Jack said, turning fully to Rhys now, frowning. “You… You don’t want me to put it on?”

Rhys frowned. “Why would I want your mask on?”

This stopped Jack. He looked at the man, confused beyond all belief. “Be… Because I always have my mask on…”

“You sleep with it on, too?” Rhys asked, turning over to look at him fully.

“No, but-”

Rhys shook his head. “I’m sorry, Jack, but you’re not making sense. If you don’t sleep with it on, why are you going to put it on to sleep in?”

“Doesn’t my face bother you?”

“What? Why would it bother me?” Rhys shook his head. “I still don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Jack stared at Rhys, feeling like a complete idiot. If Rhys, in his most raw and honest form hadn’t cared about the mask, than it was most likely that human Rhys wouldn’t. And he didn’t care. He sighed. “I’m sorry, Rhysie, I’ve been an idiot and a complete ass.”

“You have?” Rhys asked.

Jack almost answered, but stopped. Rhys was too discombobulated. He needed to rest. Jack shut the bathroom light off and crawled into the bed, resting on his back.

“G’night, Jack,” Rhys sighed.

“Night.”

Jack stared at the ceiling, hating himself for how he’d judged Rhys so quickly, and even more for how he’d treated him. Well, Jack would make up for it. Tomorrow, he would apologize and pamper the shit out of Rhys.

He frowned, though. He looked at Rhys, who faced him, his hands tucked under his head, eyes closed. “Wait, did you say you’ve been naked around your parents recently?”

“Hmm?”

Jack turned on his elbow and nudged Rhys gently. “When you saw you were naked, you said something about the last time you visited your parents.”

“I was naked?” Rhys popped an eye open to look at Jack.

“Yes. And you said you hadn’t been naked around someone since-”

“The last time I visited my parents. How did you know that?” Rhys asked, his lids heavy.

“Why were you naked around them?”

Rhys thought for a long moment, his eyelid fluttering shut. “My siblings were there, too.”

“Lemme guess, also naked?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Rhys frowned. “Why not? It’s perfectly natural and nothing to be ashamed of.”

“That’s fine, Rhysie, but why were your parents naked, and you naked, and your family?”

“Why shouldn’t they be naked? It’s only natural.”

“Only nat-” Jack’s eyes widened. “Are your parents nudists?”

Rhys frowned deeper. “They’re naturists. They believe in only eating food their soul animal would eat and being close to nature as is healthy.”

“Which means no clothes, right?” Jack asked. Rhys smiled. It was sleepy and wistful. His eyes closed and Jack watched him fall asleep. “Night, kitten,” he whispered.

Jack sighed, turning onto his back again. He’d been a complete, heartless bastard to Rhys tonight. The moment he’d thought Rhys couldn’t handle Jack’s real face, Jack had stopped helping Rhys, which had only made things worse. Jack had caused Rhys to throw up as he’d insensitively hauled him from the floor. He’d known better than to be so rough. Shifting back from such a stress-shift always left the human disoriented and queasy, but he’d been so occupied with being pissed, he hadn’t cared.

 _He’d hurt Rhys_.

His stomach twisted violently together and he wanted to throw up himself. He clenched his jaw. “I’m sorry I’m such a terrible boyfriend,” he said to the sleeping man next to him. “You’re so naturally a good person and I’m so naturally not. I’ll make it up to you, Rhysie, I promise. Prepare to be thoroughly wooed.”

Jack sighed as he stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. He’d gotten used to Rhys sleeping around his head and being cramped that now there seemed to be too much room. He remembered when Angel would sneak into his room and curl around his head. He’d always wake up in the middle of the night, cramped and sweating, to find his daughter cuddling with him. This was going to be a long night. It would take him forever to fall asleep, if he even did. He was too disgusted with himself. He was a monster, always hurting those he loved. He didn’t deserve Rhys.

And then Rhys sighed and scooted against Jack, curling into his body. He shivered violently, his lips worried. Jack wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close. Rhys settled, sighing against him. He wrapped an arm around Jack, nuzzling close.

Jack had forgotten the other most important thing about shifting back. Rhys was going to have to stay close to Jack. He would need comfort and safety and that meant staying closely connected to someone who was very important to you. If Rhys had gone home, he probably would have shifted back, restarting the whole process.

“It’s okay, Rhysie,” Jack whispered, kissing his forehead. “I’m here and I’m never gonna leave you, not even from my own stupidity.” He was quiet for a long time, thinking. “I may be a heartless monster, but…” he sighed. “Well, you _are_ my heart and I will always protect you. I don’t deserve you, but I’m going to spend the rest of my life earning that right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


	11. Dog-on Good Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys wakes up in a strange place, but any anxiety is calmed by Jack's warm, gentle care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!

Rhys’ headache throbbed quietly as he stirred from his sleep. He was curled in the most comfortable bed he’d ever been in, which meant he wasn’t at home. In a slight panic, he sat up in clothes that were too big for him. The shoulders of the shirt were too wide and the length of the pajama pants were too short and stopped at least a good inch above his ankles. These were definitely not his pajamas. He frowned, rubbing his eye and trying to remember where he was, but his brain would not reveal the answer. Where was he?

He rested his feet on the floor, his toes sinking into the luxury carpeting. He eased himself up, wobbling just a bit. He felt like crap and as he left the warmth of the covers, he became extremely cold. He spotted a soft throw blanket on the foot of the bed and he scooped it up. Wrapped up and sinking into the wonderful smell it had, Rhys was instantly comforted and he felt a little calmer about his situation.

Peeking his head out the door, Rhys’ eyes widened. He was staring at a hallway to a circular entryway that lead off in two directions. A wonderful coffee scent took him hesitantly to the left, where it opened into the largest home Rhys had ever known. He stood there, frowning, taking in all of it. It was vaguely familiar, but so distantly familiar it hurt his head the more he tried to remember. The bright lights didn’t help, making him wince in pain as he toddled along. He rubbed his temple, the cool feel of his eye port startling him. He had forgotten about it.

He jumped when he heard someone from a room on his right. He almost ran to hide, but forced himself to stay put. Hiding was silly and something only his serval self would do, and he wasn’t sure why those instincts were so prominent. They were only ever at the surface when he’d spent a large amount of time as a serval, but that didn’t make sense, he didn’t remember being a serval.

From the door stepped Handsome Jack, smiling softly at him. Rhys’ eyes widened. He was in  _ his boss’s _ house. He was in Handsome Jack’s house. Which mean he was in Handsome Jack’s blanket that smelled so good and comforting. He looked down at his clothes, barely registering he was also in Handsome Jack’ pajamas.

“Oh, good, you’re up. I was just going to check on you.” He eyed the blanket, almost accusatory. 

“You can have your blanket back!” Rhys offered quickly, embarrassed.

“Nah,” Jack said with a sigh as he switched the light off in the hallway, letting Rhys’ eyes relax. “You need it more than me. You hungry?” 

“Why am I in your place?”

Jack’s smile softened, if that was even possible, and he placed his hand at the small of Rhys’ back and ushered him to the kitchen, shutting lights off as he went. “Let’s have breakfast first. At least some coffee.”

“Jack-”

But Jack shook his head. “No, Rhysie, have some food and coffee and you’ll be able to concentrate more.”

“I think I might like some tea, better?” he asked quietly.

Jack was thoughtful. “I think there might actually be some in there somewhere.” He pulled Rhys close, their sides touching. Rhys almost pulled away, but the smell of Jack kept him there. He couldn’t understand why, but it calmed him so incredibly, Rhys even leaned on Jack a little.

Smirking at this, Jack took him to a large pantry, where they stood in front of a large section of tea, staring at all of it. “Wow,” Rhys said. “You have a lot of tea…”

Jack smiled. “My daughter managed to create quite the collection before she went off to college.”

Startled, Rhys looked at Jack, his eyes assessing the tea through his mask. Rhys thought there was something important there he was supposed to remember, but his head began to throb. He looked back at the tea. “I didn’t know you had a daughter.”

“Only a few people do. My closest friend and bodyguard,” he looked at Rhys. “And now you.”

Rhys bit his bottom lip. Jack was trusting him with a secret that was incredibly important to him. “Thank you for sharing, Jack.”

He laughed. “See? It’s not difficult to share something, Rhysie, ya just gotta open your mouth and say it.”

That made Rhys frown. There was a point Jack was trying to make, but Rhys couldn’t remember it. Jack motioned to the tea, telling Rhys to look through it and find something, Angel would want it to have a good use. Then, Jack left and Rhys looked over the extremely organized tea. He found a mint chamomile and grabbed two bags. He couldn’t shake the light cold that creeped in now that he wasn’t nestled next to Jack. He rolled his shoulders back, trying to push the empty feeling away. He went into the kitchen, his eyes hurting from the sudden light. Jack switched the overhead light off and flipped on the softer ones over the bar stools.

“Thank you,” Rhys said. “How did you know the lights would bug me?”

“They bugged you last night.”

“Last ni- I was here last night?”

Jack turned the kettle on. It was white with beautifully painted morning glories on it. Jack checked the water level, shaking it it. He winced. “Haven’t cleaned this out since she was here last. Can’t believe there’s still water in it. He spent a few minutes rinsing it out. Rhys watched burner get redder and redder and then cool off, only to repeat. He watched it several times before Jack replaced the kettle back on. He pulled out some potatoes in a large pan from the oven. They were half cooked. He set them on a burner and turned the heat to medium and then pulled out some bacon. He heated up five, cooking them perfectly and then handing them to Rhys on a paper towel.

Rhys nibbled them. “I was here last night?”

Jack eyed him and the bacon before finally nodding. “Yes. You’ve been here for a week and a day.”

“A week?” Rhys’ eyes widened. He shook his head. “I don’t remember…”

Jack sighed. “You stress- shifted, cupcake.”

Eyes wider, Rhys looked back into his memory for the earliest he had. He vaguely remembered talking with Jack last night, but before that…”

Rhys’ heart began to beat fast and he felt himself getting sweaty.  _ Vasquez. _ He remembered now. Rhys’ breath caught and he dropped the bacon to the plate.

“Dammit,” Jack hissed, walking around the counter. He got into Rhys’ space and pulled the blanket more snugly around him. He pulled Rhys into a hug, his forehead pressed into Jack’s chest. Rhys felt his heart rate slow back down as Jack held him close. Jack rubbed his back. “Try to calm your breathing, kitten,” Jack said. They were quiet for a while as Rhys calmed down. When Jack spoke, his voice was quiet, rolling through Rhys, calming him. “I knew you hadn’t eaten enough yet.” He produced a piece of bacon under Rhys’ face. Gingerly, Rhys took it and nibbled. Jack rubbed his back again. “No more talking about it until you’re better, unless you want to tell me his name. Yes, I know his face. It was caught on camera.” Jack growled at these words.

Rhys didn’t know how to react. He stayed silent and was sad when Jack left to tend to the bacon. The kettle sounded and Jack found a tall mug, popping the two bags in together and pouring the hot water into it. He handed it to Rhys, who leaned forward to smell it. He smiled.

Jack shook his head and handed Rhys more bacon. Rhys nibbled it, surprised that he’d eaten the first five already. As he nibbled, he watched Jack. Jack was not acting like how Rhys was used to. He was cooking Rhys food and being gentle. It was weird and Rhys didn’t know how to act.

“I guess, I should leave after-”

“No.” Jack said, glancing up at Rhys. “You’re not going anywhere until we’re sure you’re not going to stress-shift again.”

Rhys was silent. It was possible for someone, after stress-shifting, to reshift after reliving the trauma, but Rhys didn’t know why that meant he needed to stay with Jack. Though, he did feel more relaxed around him, which was also really weird. This whole experience was weird.

When the potatoes were almost done, Jack asked Rhys how he took his eggs and then began to set up the kitchen nook with plates, glasses of orange juice and Rhys. Jack, taking Rhys’ elbow, lead him back to the table and told him to stay. Rhys frowned, but felt colder as Jack walked away. He frowned deeper at this. Was he just so used to Jack since he’d spent concentrated time in serval form with him?

He gasped.

“What?” Jack asked from the stove.

“I… I just realized you know my animal…”

Jack smirked. “Sure do,  _ kitten _ .” Jack brought two plates full of bacon, eggs, potatoes and toast. “You’re a cute little thing, too.”

Rhys felt his cheeks heat.

Jack set the plates down next to each other and made Rhys scoot further into the nook so Jack could sit next to him. “If it makes you feel better, I’m a wolf. An amazingly, awesome arctic wolf.” Jack’s smirk was cocky. “You’d like me, I’m all nice and warm.”

This made Rhys flush even more. He stuffed some potatoes in his mouth. He found himself letting out a small moan. “Oh, this is really good!”

Jack smiled wider. “Glad you like it. Haven’t cooked like this in a while. Usually, Angel and I cook together, but since she’s been at college…”

Rhys smiled as he watched Jack. “You must miss her a lot.”

Eyeing, Rhys, Jack smiled. “I do. She’s made life worth living.”

“That’s really sweet,” Rhys said, chomping on more bacon. “You really think I should stay here until I’m better?”

Nodding, Jack nudged Rhys to drink some orange juice. Without thinking, Rhys complied, sipping it. He frowned at this. He hadn’t even questioned it, just drank as Jack ordered. He must really be out of it. But he sipped and the juice made him feel better.

They chatted as they ate, Jack sipping his coffee and monitoring Rhys’ food intake. Rhys felt awkward, but he had to know. “So… Uh… I hope I wasn’t too obnoxious as a serval… My roommates always have stories…”

Jack grinned. “You brought me a rodent, which was really sweet, and I hope I didn’t offend your soul animal, but I threw it away without you seeing.”

Rhys’ eyes widened. “I-” he shook his head. “I’ve never brought anyone an animal before…”

“You also got into my food,” Jack stated. “I woke up to a noise and you almost gave me a heart attack with those eyes glowing in the dark.”

Rhys shrank. “I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be, it was hilarious. Except for the rodent.” Jack nodded to Rhys’ plate. “Eat.” Jack finished first and waited for Rhys. It was really,  _ really _ strange to have Handsome Jack wait on him so patiently. When Rhys finally finished, Jack gave him more orange juice and told him to drink it while he cleaned up the dishes.

Rhys sipped contemplatively while jack moved around. Afterwards, Jack took him to the couch where they sat. “Get some rest, kitten and don’t worry about anything.”

Nodding, Rhys slowly sat on the couch, his legs curled to him and tried to rest, but he was too uncomfortable and cold and anxious. He shifted several times as Jack pulled out a tablet. The man glanced at Rhys and then looked at him fully, watching. He hooked Rhys with an arm and pulled him up and across the couch. Now he was snug against Jack’s torso, Jack’s arm around Rhys’ shoulder.

“If you want something, just say it or do it, Rhys.” He pulled the blanket around Rhys to cover him better. “Now, rest.”

It was amazing how the anxiety left. Rhys snuggled closer to Jack, feeling content and comfortable, more comfortable than he’d ever felt. The heat from Jack’s body seeped into Rhys and his eyes grew heavy. He let them close and listened to Jack’s heartbeat. Its rhythm soothed Rhys.

“Hmm,” he heard Jack mumble. He read a sentence and mumbled a question to himself.

Rhys peaked a sleepy eye opened and looked at the screen, analyzing it. “That’s not right.”

Jack looked at him under his reading glasses. “Oh?”

Explaining, Rhys’ words turned to mush as he began to drift off. When he awoke next, he felt rested and peaceful. And comfortable. He felt himself raise a little as the body under him breathed. Rhys peeled open a sleepy eye. He was laying on top of Jack, his head on Jack’s chest. Rhys froze. He was cuddling with Jack… What was happening? But before Rhys could think more about it, Jack’s arm rested on Rhys’ back and Rhys calmed, falling back to sleep.

When he awoke the second time, Jack was reading something from his tablet. Rhys stayed still for a while, thinking. He didn’t think about the past week, just listened to his body. He was hungry again, and thirsty and worn. He felt a coldness trying to creep in and he shivered, realizing his blanket had slid away from him.

Jack reached over and pulled the blanket back on. Rhys stared ahead of him, at the openness of Jack’s penthouse. It reminded him of home. Of the savannah and warm desert sand. He breathed a heavy sigh.

“What’s up, kitten?” Jack asked.

For a long moment, Rhys was quiet, but then he spoke. “I just… I want to go home. Not like, to the new apartment, but to visit my family…”

“Makes sense, that’s the place you grew up feeling the safest, right?” Rhys nodded. Jack continued. “It makes sense you’d want that safety. We’ll leave tomorrow.”

Rhys looked at him, arm propping him up on Jack’s chest. “Really?”

Jack looked at him over his reading glasses. “Do you want to go?”

Rhys nodded.

“Then, we’ll go.”

“Wait, we?” Rhys frowned.

“I’m not leaving your side until you’re better.”

Rhys looked at the penthouse. “Right,” he said. He rested back on Jack’s chest, his eyes sliding shut. “-m hungry,” he mumbled. “‘N thirsty.”

Jack smirked. “What would you like, kitten?”

“Mmmm,” Rhys began as he fell asleep again.

This time, when he woke, he was alone. He curled into himself, feeling the cold at the edge of the blanket, trying to break through. Slowly, he sat up, pulling the covers close to him. His cybernetic shoulder ached and itched, but he just rotated it, looking around. Where was Jack?

A delicious smell wafted by and Rhys sniffed the air. It smelled amazing. Rhys slowly let his feet fall to the wood floor. He eased himself up, wrapping the blanket around him tightly as he shuffled through the house. He went into the kitchen, his eyes blinking at the brightness of the room.

Jack was at the stove. He saw Rhys and went to him, turning some of the lights off and lead Rhys to the table. “It’s almost ready.” Rhys curled into the booth, his legs tucked to his stomach. Jack brought him orange juice, which Rhys drank greedily.

He wiped his mouth. “I guess I should let my parents know I’m heading over.”

“You can use my ECHO,” Jack left to fetch it.

Rhys thought for a moment before an embarrassed smile overcame him. He was going to use Handsome Jack’s ECHO. It was tightly guarded, but now Jack was letting Rhys use it. Rhys felt a little rebellious about this, and also a tad special. This was a side of Jack Rhys had never known, and if he was honest, he kinda liked it.

Jack came back and handed it to Rhys. Rhys called his parents. “H-hi mom,” his voice cracked when his mother answered the phone.

“Rhys! I didn’t recognize this number! I almost didn’t answer! How are you? You sound a little off, what’s wrong?”

Rhys was quiet, his mother’s soothing voice washing over him. “I… I just wanted to tell you I’m coming over tomorrow… I just… need a little bit of a vacation…” his throat thickened and stuck together and he blinked the tears away. He did not want to cry in front of his boss.

There was a pause and then his mother’s tone perked up. “Oh! That’s just marvelous! It’s been too long since we last saw you! We can’t wait to see you!”

He said his goodbyes and clicked off. He set it on the table. “Thanks,” he said quietly.

“No problem,” Jack said as he brought a plate with a hamburger on it. Jack set another plate down with all the dressings for it.

Rhys’ eyes widened. “This looks amazing!” He immediately began to put things together one at a time. He was used to working with only on arm.

“How’s the shoulder?” Jack asked. He went behind Rhys to look at it, leaning over the seat. He gingerly touched it.

Rhys winced away.

“Sorry, kitten,” he said quietly. “We’ll need to change this after you eat.”

It was nice eating with Jack. He was a good conversationalist, keeping up with whatever Rhys rambled on about. It was surprising how comfortable Rhys felt with Jack. Like they had been friends for years.

“I didn’t know you could cook so well!” Rhys took a huge bite of his second burger.

Jack laughed. “Well, about the time Angel could eat real food, I decided I wanted her to grow up as healthy as possible, so I learned to cook.”

“That’s amazing. I bet you’re an awesome dad.”

Smirking, Jack brushed some invisible dust off his shoulder. “I like to brag, so yes, yes I am.”

Rhys giggled and set his burger down. “I am stuffed! But it was just so good!”

“Good. Let’s see about your shoulder now.” They went to Jack’s bathroom, where Rhys sat on a chair in his stupidly ostentatious bathroom that looped around in a U as Jack grabbed all the things he needed. As Jack came back, he slowed, eyeing Rhys.

“You needed my shirt off right?” Rhys asked, easily taking his shirt off.

Jack set the things on the counter and then looked Rhys over. “You have a lot of tattoos, kitten.”

Rhys looked at himself. His body was at least half covered. “Oh. Yeah. You should see my parents. Practically all their skin is covered.” Rhys frowned then, caught in a thought. “Ew.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiewithink.tumblr.com/


	12. You've Cat to be Kidding Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack meets Rhys' family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! It's been SUCH a long time, but I have a gift! After this chapter, I'll be releasing another one on Friday for http://starfruitspice.tumblr.com's RhackJune project. Check them out, warning that most of them are NSFW! Her RhackJune tag: http://starfruitspice.tumblr.com/tagged/rhackjune!

Rhys was floored when he was taken a floor down to his, Yvette’s and Vaughn’s new apartment. It was ridiculously huge. Vaughn in horse form could easily walk around without knocking anything over. When he stepped in, clothed still in Jack’s pajamas, he was hit with the force of two people. The wind was knocked out of him and he stumbled backwards into Jack. A swear was squeezed from Jack as he glared at Vaughn and Yvette.

“You idiots! He can barely walk on his own!”

The two quickly scrambled away, looking apologetic.

“It’s okay, I just wasn’t prepared for it.”

Jack grumbled under his breath as he shut the door.

Rhys looked around them in the entrance. “This place looks huge!”

“It is! Three bedrooms, each with an enormous bathroom with a shower and a tub! The closets are insane and the toilets have their own room!”

He was starting to feel overwhelmed. He found himself beginning to lean against Jack some. His grip on Rhys tightened as Jack read Rhys’ body language. Rhys smiled, feeling himself relax a little. The place didn’t seem too confusing anymore.

They took him on a tour, showing them their rooms and saving his own room for last.

“We unpacked for you,” Vaughn said. “It was Yvette’s idea, so when you came home, you could just relax.”

“Thank you, guys!” Rhys said. He felt the water build in his eyes. He walked into his bedroom, which was tucked in the back corner, across from Vaughn. Excited, he left Jack’s side and wandered around, his smile growing the more he looked. In order to get to his bedroom, he had to enter his bathroom first, which was huge. His closet was in this area, which was also huge. “You guys! This is amazing!”

“Isn’t it!?!?” Vaughn said, jumping on Rhys’ bed. He pointed to the sliding doors that sat on the wall opposite the entrance. “And that! THAT! Is your own private sanctuary! There’s three of them!”

Yvette was propped against the door frame, next to Jack. “Yeah, I have the smallest one, which is still bigger than our last place, you have the middle one, so you can jump and bound with all that energy and we decided Vaughn should have the biggest one.”

Rhys nodded. “Sounds amazing! I almost wish I wasn’t leaving,” he said. “But I get to see family!” he smiled.

“Say hello for us!” Vaughn said, still standing on Rhys’ bed.

“Oh! And when you get back and are feeling up to it, we would like to have a party celebrating this new awesome home.” Yvette looked at Jack. “You’re invited of course and bring some friends. This is also a thank you party.”

Rhys almost giggled as Jack twitched. The man nodded, hiding his sudden nervousness. Rhys went back to his closet. “Guess I should pack.”

“Take your time,” Jack said. “Our private ship can wait.”

Rhys nodded and everyone filed out of the room. Rhys was alone now and he took his time to look around his new room. Jack had given them all this. Why? He was nothing to Jack, just an overqualified PA. Yet, he’d so easily given them a place to stay, free of charge. Rhys would never have guessed this was the same man known everywhere as Handsome Jack. He was beginning to see the real Jack and he definitely liked him better. Rhys smiled and went to his closet to grab his small travel bag.

When he came out, Jack and the others were chatting in the kitchen. The conversation was comfortable and laid back. They were not talking with their boss, but with a friend. This made Rhys smile wider. He didn’t think Jack was able to do this often and was glad it was his friends.

“I’m ready.”

Jack eyed the bag. “Didn’t pack much.”

“I never do.”

Vaughn eyed Yvette, a knowing look passing between the two.

But Jack shrugged and they left. Rhys hugged the two before shutting the door. Jack steered him to the cybernetics team. They checked Rhys’ arm and bandages, making sure everything was healing properly. When they approved, Jack lead the way to the spaceship.

The trip was long and took a couple days, which Rhys spent sleeping. He was exhausted easily these days. When Jack wasn’t taking care of Rhys, he was working. Rhys lay on the couch, watching Jack read something through his reading glasses.

The man glanced over, catching Rhys with a smirk. “Like what you see?”

Rhys pretended to sleep, even snoring just a little.

* * *

They landed safely, but Rhys was bouncing in front of the door. His smile was the widest and most excited Jack had ever seen. He smirked as he packed his work up. He would not work on it unless there was absolutely nothing going on. This was time with Rhys and Rhys’ family. The ship touched down and the pilot opened the door. Rhys rushed out, running down the stairs.

Jack frowned. “Careful!” he called. He didn’t want Rhys tripping and getting hurt. It would be Jack’s fault all over again. He’d failed to protect Rhys and had been the cause of his shoulder wounds and the attack. He was not going to let Rhys get hurt like that again.

But Rhys was spinning in circles, the hot air energizing him. Jack shook his head, at least Rhys was smiling now. As Jack got close to Rhys, Rhys jumped towards him, wrapping his arms around Jack’s neck and squeezing tight. “Thank you so much, Jack!”

Jack easily held him. “Hey, if I’d known this would get you to hug me, I woulda sent us here sooner.”

Laughing, Rhys let go of him, but waved for Jack to hurry up and follow him. Rhys stopped suddenly and looked at Jack in horror. “Oh! This isn’t too hot for you, is it?”

Jack smirked. “You’re too hot for me, kitten.”

That made Rhys erupt in laughter and he shook his head. They grabbed a taxi and were driven through town and into the country and down a long road into the wilderness to a small encampment with large huts. The taxi stopped there and they got out. It would not drive them the rest of the way.

Rhys thanked the driver and smiled at Jack. “It’s not that long of a walk.” He breathed in deeply and lead the way.

By the halfway mark, Jack had taken off his jacket, lab coat, vest and sweater, leaving only an undershirt. As he tucked everything else into his bag, he shook his head. “Why do I dress in so many layers?”

As they drew closer, Rhys got more and more excited. He had half a mind to grab Jack’s hand and run, but he was still recovering and needed to take it easy. The tent came into view and, needing to release some energy, Rhys tugged on Jack’s arm, shaking it erratically. “We’re almost there! It’s been over a two years since I’ve seen them!” Rhys tugged on him, making him walk faster. They reached the tent and Rhys barged in. “I’m here!”

His mother walked in from the kitchen, which was in attached to the main hut. She was nude, her body completely covered in tattooed markings of her animal print, along with other tribal decorations that flowed easily with the others.

“Rhysie!” she stopped as she eyed Jack. “I did not realize you were bringing a friend.”

Rhys’ eyes widened. “Shit!” He slapped his robotic hand over Jack’s eyes. “I’m so sorry, Jack! I totally forgot!”

“Me too,” Jack said, dazed.

Casually, Rhys’ mom went over to a chest and opened it. “You always forget, honey, which makes it also our fault, we should know to always err on the side of caution.” She called out to the house. “Rhys brought a friend! Everyone, get dressed!”

When his mom was covered in a wrapped dress, Rhys took his hand away from Jack’s face. The man stared straight ahead, a mild, firm smile plastered to his face.

Rhys’ mom clicked her tongue. “Oh, Rhys! He’s traumatized!” she went over to Jack and held his face, squishing his cheeks. She frowned. “Well, we just can’t see you at all with this thing on!” And before Rhys could stop her, she removed Jack’s mask. She tossed the mask to the floor and smiled at Jack. “There! Oh, Rhys, you have a very handsome  _ friend _ !” She turned his face around, musing, looking over his scars. “Mmm, but you haven’t been taking care of it properly…?” she looked at Rhys, wanting to know his friend’s name.

“Jack,” he whispered, dazed.

“Jack!” she smiled at him and then became stern. “This won’t do at all! You must take care of yourself! Every part of you deserves love and care. Stay here.” And she turned and left the room.

The moment she was gone, Rhys turned to Jack. “I’m so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so sorry! She normally waits a day before she does this!”

Jack didn’t answer. He looked stunned, unsure of what to do with himself. The only thing that told Rhys he was even still alive was when Jack blinked.

Rhys covered his mouth. “I’m really sorry Jack! I can tell her to leave you alone! Do you want your mask back on?”

There was still no answer.

Moving closer, Rhys moved to stand in front of Jack. Rhys gently touched the man’s arm. “Jack? Are you okay? Do you want your mask back on?”

Jack’s eyes finally moved to look at Rhys.

Rhys smiled. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Jack mimicked. His eyes were wide as he looked at Rhys.

“Your mask…”

“Your mask?” Jack echoed.

“Do you want it back on?”

Jack thought for an incredibly long time. “Your mask…  _ My mask _ …”

“Yes, do you want it back on?” Rhys smiled gently.

“My…” Jack frowned. “Your mother… She just… I forgot they were nudists.”

“Naturists. I’m so sorry, Jack! I totally forgot to tell them you were coming! It just didn’t cross my mind! I must still be really out of it…”

That got Jack’s attention and he smiled, his eyes focusing fully on Rhys, looking him over. “It’s okay. You did tell me about them. Are you doing okay?”

Rhys smiled. “I’m a little tired from the walk, but I’m okay. Are  _ you _ okay?”

A slow frown scrunched Jack’s face as his hand went to his scar. “She… took my mask off… Why?”

“They’re naturists… They  believe the natural you is the most beautiful. To her, it was like removing your jacket and hanging it in the closet. I’m really sorry! She’s normally not that aggressive.”

A small smile appeared on Jack. “I like a confident woman.”

Rhys laughed. “Good, that’s all you’ll get here. Do you want your mask back on?”

Jack looked at it discarded unceremoniously on the floor. “I… I don’t… know…”

“Well, I like you how you are, but I want to respect your choice,” Rhys said casually.”

“You like me… Without my mask?” Jack’s brows rose and a wider smile was forming.

Rhys smiled. “Of course! I feel like I’m actually talking to  _ you _ and not Handsome Jack.” Plus, Rhys thought, now he could  _ really  _ oggle the man. Quietly, of course, he didn’t want to unease Jack any further.

Jack smirked. “You like me without my mask.”

“Rhys! Which friend did you bring?” a feminine voice sounded. A teenage girl, Tara, walked out into the living room fully clothed. Her eyes widened. “Oh! You brought a  _ man _ !” her voice was louder than what was necessary.

As she said this, heads started peaking around the corner. His siblings eyed Jack and whispered. Rhys caught words like ‘cute’ and ‘he would like an older man’ and ‘he always has.’

Cheeks heating, Rhys glared at them. “Stop gossiping! You haven’t even met him!”

“But there  _ is _ a him!” Tara said. There was more giggling.

Rhys rolled his eyes. “So, you’re just gonna giggle and not give me a hug?”

They all screamed and ran for Rhys. Rhys braced and successfully stayed on his feet. Twelve children small and teenagers hugged Rhys, laughter bubbling from Rhys as he hugged each of them. Then he eyed Jack and smirked. “No hugs for my friend?”

The smaller children moved like a wave to surround Jack and hug him. Jack, though still somewhat stunned, hugged them. One of them pointed at his face. Rhys started to flinch.

“WOAH! COOL! You have two different eye colors!”

Rhys and Jack smiled. Jack ruffled the kid’s head. “Yep! I was born with two different colored eyes!”

“But that one doesn’t move,” another child said.

“It doesn’t?” Jack asked, feeling around his cybernetic, green eye. Suddenly, he was bending over and screaming in pain. “OH NO! WHAT’S HAPPENING!?!?!?” He held his hand out and in it, rolled a robotic eye.

The children screamed, even the older ones and they all ran back down the hall. Jack ran after them, screaming in a horrified yell.

Rhys, after being startled, laughed. Tara, the only one unaffected, shook her head and then eyed Rhys. “So, how long have you two been dating?”

“What?” Rhys frowned. “We’re not dating.”

She shrugged.

Jack appeared in the living room again, cybernetic eye back in his eye socket. He smiled. “Haven’t done that in a long time. Made the mistake of doing it to Wilhelm.”

Rhys’ eyes widened.

“The man smashed my freakin’ eye! And he calls himself a robot.”

“Tara!” someone called. “Margo took my stuffed animal!”

Tara rolled her eyes and walked back to the room. She turned to Rhys. “Has mom met him yet?”

“She was the first person he met. Where’s dad?”

She waved her hand in a circle. “Around.”

Rhys nodded and he and Jack were alone once more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiewithink.tumblr.com/


	13. Claws And Effect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch http://starfruitspice.tumblr.com's art they did for this chapter for their Rhackjune!

Rhys wiped his brow. With all the commotion, he hadn’t realized he’d started to sweat. It wasn’t from the heat, he knew that for sure, the air conditioning kept the hut cool.

Jack caught the motion and went to him, feeling his forehead. His skin was warm to Rhys’ clammy head. “You need to eat and rest. Take me to the kitchen.”

Frowning, Rhys waved him away. “That’s silly, you can’t cook for me, you’re the guest.” He brought them into the small kitchen. The appliances were top dollar, but the counters were original.

“You need to rest, just point to where everything is.”

“I’m fine, I can cook.”

Jack wrapped his arm around Rhys’ shoulder and sat him down at the table. Jack went through the fridge and the cupboards, taking inventory of what he had to work with. He ended up cooking a vegetable omelet. He was in the middle when Rhys’ mom entered from the backyard.

She smiled. “I see you’ve found your way around the kitchen.” She looked at Rhys pointedly. She scooted Jack out of the way and indicated towards the backyard. “Be a dear, Jack, and help Grandpa in here.”

Jack, flinching away from Rhys’ mom, nodded. “That’s for Rhys,” he said as he walked away.

When Jack had wandered out of the large, technologically advanced hut, Rhys whispered loudly from the table. “I can’t believe you just ripped his mask off! You didn’t even know his name!”

His mom smiled. “He looked like he needed to be liberated! His spirit looked caged and chained.”

“So, you just ripped it off?”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Rhys, I didn’t rip it off, I gently took it off. He can put it back on if he wants to.”

Jack came back into the kitchen and held the door open so an ancient looking man could hobble in. He was shorter than Rhys and was covered in as many scars as his mom’s tattoos. He had a large, disfiguring scar over his right eye.

Rhys hopped up and went to him. “Grandpa!” Rhys gave him a big hug. Grandpa laughed deeply and hugged Rhys back. His dark skin was cracked and weathered, but his laugh was full and happy.

“Rhystopher!” the man laughed. “You look like shit!”

“Grandpa!” Rhys’ mom scolded.

“What, Vera? I’m not asking him why he’s here like you said! I just said he looks like a trash can that was beat to crap.”

Rhys’ mom, Vera, set the spatula on the counter with a large bang. She eyed Grandpa.

Wincing, Grandpa laughed and patted Rhys on the back, roughly, making Rhys wince. “Looks like I’m already in trouble!”

Jack frowned and wedged his way between Grandpa and Rhys protectively. “You’re Grandpa?” he asked skeptically. “Who’s Grandpa? The Earth’s?”

Grandpa laughed loudly and found a chair. “I like you! It’s about time Rhys had a strong man.”

“Grandpa, he’s-”

But Grandpa wagged a finger at Rhys. “Now, now, Rhystopher, there’s nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about! Dating an older man is a very wise choice, though all the women I’ve asked out will tell you differently.”

Rhys frowned.

Jack, however, laughed. As he walked Rhys to a chair a safe distance away from Grandpa’s reach, he laughed. He went to Vera and collected Rhys’ food, placing it in front of Rhys.

“Grandpa is Rhys’ dad’s Grandpa,” Vera said as she went outside and brought in some sun tea. She set it on the counter and found a large pitcher. “He’s fought in two wars, liberating countless war slaves.”

“And liberating myself,” Grandpa grunted. He pointed at his eye. “See this? Got this when I was caught rescuing a village. This was their way of warning me to stop fighting them.” He sneered. “Felt good when I dug my tusk deep in his gut.”

Jack listened intently as Grandpa retold his war story. Rhys smiled as his mom served them tea and sat down with them. Jack looked relaxed the more Grandpa shared about his scars. Eventually, Jack began to share his battle scars. There weren’t as much as Rhys had thought, which left the many other scars without an explanation. Rhys wondered about those, but he was sure he understood.

The two laughed as Rhys and Vera listened. His mom gave a knowing smile at Rhys and sat forward. “Oh, Grandpa, you have extra ointment for your face scar, right? I’d like to give some to Jack, it’s all dried out from being under that mask too much.”

Rhys winced as his Grandpa turned on Jack. “You wear a mask? What kind of idiot told you that would be a good idea? Don’t tell me, you’re scared of others seeing you! Don’t be stupid, scars are scary and regal! You look ten times as kickass as any normal person.” He pointed to Rhys. “And it didn’t stop you from getting a little tush!”

“Grandpa!” Rhys hissed, cheeks burning red..

Jack smirked, but eyed Rhys’ plate. It was barely touched. He pushed it closer to Rhys. “Eat.” He looked at Grandpa. “I made the biggest mistake of my life, getting this scar. I was stupid and selfish and I almost lost my life. Anyone who sees it knows what a dumbass I was. Knows my greatest failure.”

Rhys looked at Jack, surprised how easily the man could talk about it. Jack recounted the tale, his jaw clenching as he spoke. He’d almost lost his life due to his greed and had almost left his daughter an orphan. Rhys listened as he ate. He’d heard about it around Helios, but he’d never known the entire story.

Grandpa nodded when Jack was finished. “Well, we all know now and I only have more respect for you.”

That got Jack’s attention.

Rhys smiled as he chewed on a bite. “Same here.”

Jack smiled at Rhys, watching him thoughtfully.

Grandpa laughed. “See? You made a mistake, learned from it and grew! I bet before that scar, you never would have given Rhystopher here a chance.”

“Grandpa-”

“You’re right,” Jack said. “I wouldn’t have. I was too focused on the vaults.”

Face red all over again, Rhys started to address his Grandpa before everyone thought they were dating, but his Grandpa pointed at him before he could. “Now, what are you doing here, Rhystopher? Why do you look like crap?”

But then someone called from the front door. “Vera, my sweet, supple, love! Where are you? You will not believe the melons I haggled! They’re as big as your-” As Rhys’ father walked into the kitchen and saw more people there than just his wife, he faltered. “Your… head!”

Rhys guffawed, covering his full mouth as he laughed.

Dressed in shorts, Rhys’ father nodded towards Jack. “Who’s this?”

“Rhys’ boyfriend,” Grandpa said.

“Grandpa!” Rhys hissed.

His father laughed and grabbed Jack’s hand and shook it vigorously, rolling the plump melons to his free arm. “Hello, Rhys’ boyfriend! I’m Vera’s husband!”

“Idan!” Vera laughed. “His name is Jack.” She stood and went to him, kissing him fully before taking the melons. As she walked away, she held them to her breasts. “They are really perfect!”

Idan followed closely, excited. “They are! Almost a shame to cut them up.”

Jack watched, not sure if he should be amused or horrified. He leaned into Rhys as he took a bite, asking him a silent question. Rhys smiled and shrugged. Yes, they were always like this, so get used to it. Jack nodded.

“My darling, my sweet nectar of the desert,” Idan said, kissing  Vera’s neck as she brought a large knife down to slice the melons. “You cut those melons beautifully.”

“Your interests were always _unusual_ , my love.” Vera giggled.

Jack looked away, unused to the affection so obviously displayed. He had not grown up around such loving parents, or parents in general and their happiness was new to Jack.

“Hey!” a girl said, running in. “We’re going to the waterfall!”

Rhys, scooping the last bites into his mouth, called back. “We’re going too!” Standing, Rhys grabbed Jack’s hand, his skin soft against Jack’s calloused one. His smile was large and excited. “C’mon, Jack!” Easily, Jack followed Rhys into the main room. He grabbed his pack, bouncing as he waited for Jack to do the same. Then, he was pulled out into the hot sun, but around to the side to a smaller hut. Rhys tossed his bag through the door, indicating Jack to do the same. The gentle hum of the air conditioner was a sweet sweet sound to Jack’s ears.

Rhys began to strip just inside the barely closed door. “We always go to the waterfall in animal form, it’s too long of a walk as humans.” Rhys stopped as his shorts were halfway past his butt. “Oh, you’ve never shifted around me. You don’t have to, we can go in our human form, it’ll take longer cause we’ll have to walk slower so I don’t get too tired, but I know it could be weird, being my boss and all…”

He had a point. He had never been in animal form around Rhys. It would be a sign of ultimate trust. But Rhys had gone to him in animal form, trusting that Jack could help him. Even if Jack didn’t already trust Rhys completely, he would feel obliged to reciprocate that level of trust.

Smirking, Jack ripped off his shirt. “Are ya kidding, sweetheart? That’s the only way to swim!”

The smile that appeared on Rhys was worth all the money Jack had and more. The young man pulled his clothes off the rest of the way.

“Besides,” Jack said, taking in Rhys’ sight as he stripped completely. “I’ll do anything if it lets me see those tattoos again.”

Rhys flushed, but smiled. Jack stood straight, rolling his shoulders. It had been too long since the last time he shifted. He could feel it begin at his core. It spread through his body, reaching the tips of his fingers as he bent over, touching the ground with large, white paws.

The whole time, Rhys had been watching. He crouched as Jack fully became his spirit animal. He was large, his fur white with streaks of grey and black. His tail wagged as he stepped closer to Rhys, licking his cheek. “You are impressive,” Rhys said, petting him. He itched under the ear through the thick fur. Jack whined, pawing at Rhys’ knee. Rhys laughed. “Alright, alright.”

He scooted back just a bit to give him room to shift, but then he froze. The last time he’d been a serval was because of stress shifting. What if he remembered more in his animal form? Would he get stuck again? Jack bumped Rhys with his large, fluffy head, rubbing it against Rhys’ face, licking his shoulder and neck. Rhys rubbed Jack’s shoulders, absentmindedly gripping the fur tightly. He was suddenly less confident about going to the waterfall. Jack whined and nudged Rhys again, licking his cheek.

That pulled Rhys back and he looked at Jack, knowing he knew what Rhys was worrying about. Jack sniffed, his eyes locked on Rhys’.

A smile appeared on Rhys’ face. “Yeah,” he said. Jack was here, he would take care of Rhys, could feel it deep in his bones. He would be alright as long as Jack was around. Taking in deep breaths, he nuzzled into Jack’s neck, letting the fur and Jack’s scent overwhelm him. He smelled of pine trees and dirt. It relaxed Rhys as his breathing calmed and his fingers relaxed. Jack stayed still, letting Rhys ease against him. It happened naturally, his mechanical arm automatically dislodging and falling to the side.

He sat in his serval form under Jack. The scent of the wolf surrounding the smaller feline. Rhys rubbed against Jack, his purr rolling through the thick wolf fur. Jack bent low, his tongue catching the top of Rhys’ head. Rhys purred louder. He was safe and he would be okay. Moving away from Jack, he nudged the door open and bounded into the sun. He hopped as he ran, the heat soaking into his fur and warming him. He turned to Jack and crouched playfully. The large wolf pushed against the door, shutting it before trotting over.

Rhys pounced away from Jack, keeping just out of reach. It was extremely freeing being in his animal form on his terms. Jack made playful whines, bounding after Rhys. The serval wasn’t worried. He was the fastest cat after the cheetah and they were in open terrain. But it had been a while since Rhys had shifted for fun and he wanted to take advantage of that. Rhys bounced around Jack as he chased the serval. Rhys, feeling even more playful than usual, especially to his boss, jumped and pounced on the wolf. His impact did not upheave the large canine even a little. Rhys rested on Jack’s back as he mad a show of trying to get Rhys off. Rhys nipped at the back of Jack’s neck, purring.

Suddenly, Jack ducked forward and Rhys slid onto Jack’s head. Before the feline could fall off completely, Jack straightened. The serval lay there, limbs on either side of the large wolf’s head like a hat. The serval licked Jack’s forehead, purring.

Animals piled out of the family hut, young desert animals bounded around each other. Jack recognized them as Rhys’ family and trotted over to them. They noticed Rhys on his head and came over to investigate. Jack stood still, letting them get used to the wolf. They sniffed Rhys, who lazily swatted at them with a soft paw. They headed away from the hut and Jack followed in a comfortable trot, keeping up with them. He began to pant as they left the village, the heat intense on his thick fur. He was a cold climate animal and the heat was almost unbearable, but Rhys made a nice shield from the sun. The fact that Rhys was resting on him and purring happily gave Jack more than enough energy and drive to make the trip.

The waterfall was a couple miles out and hidden between the beginnings of mountains. The herd knew where to go and Jack followed easily, his ears full of continuous purrs from his cat hat. He could feel the moisture in the air, smelling how it mixed with the dry ground. The children in their animal forms did not stop running when they reached the small lake under the waterfall. Large splashes of water exploded around them as they dove right in. Trees and flora grew thick and rich, providing wonderous shade. It looked like a small oasis surrounded by cliffs. The ground was sandy and his paws left deep grooves in it. Jack, just like the others wasted no time taking a running leap. Midway through the air, Rhys lept from Jack’s head, splashing next to him.

Jack sank into the cool water, letting it seep through his fur. He saw Rhys paddling hard to get to the surface and decided to swim over to him, pushing him up with his head again. They surfaced, Rhys on Jack’s back. They padded around the others, the cool water refreshing any of Jack’s lost energy. From atop the waterfall, some of the children and teens stood. Jack watched them jump and midway shift so that when they splashed into the water, they were animals again.

Jack padded to the beach. Rhys jumped off as Jack returned to human form. Rhys did as well, laughing as he sat, coated in sand. Jack was laughing too, but he pointed to the waterfall. “Where can I get up there?”

Looking around, Rhys called to a group heading out. “Hey! Take Jack with you!” They waved and waited.

Jack stood and then realized Rhys wasn’t moving. “You’re not coming?”

“Nah, it’s a little too hard for me to swim back to the surface jumping like that.”

Jack was thoughtful as he nodded. “I’ll be back then.” He joined the group and they left.

Rhys scooted to the shallow waters, letting the shore crash around him. It wasn’t long before he saw Jack on top of the waterfall. He waved to Rhys, who waved back. A couple of the kids went first, showing him what to do. He saw a girl point to as another jumped. She was telling Jack what to do and when he wanted to start shifting. She then took several steps back and ran, getting fancy with it and spinning. She shifted at the part indicated, making a perfect splash into the water. Jack waited until she was out of the way and then took several steps back. Rhys cheered, yelling as loud as he could. Jack ran, leaping into the air and pointed at Rhys. Just at the mark, he shifted, hitting the water perfectly as a mass of fur.

Rhys cheered, whooping and clapping. Jack padded over to Rhys, shifting back when he got to the shallow part. “Hey!” he said. “I think I know how you could jump off if you wanted to!”

“Oh? How?” Rhys was a little skeptical.

“I’ll jump first and then help you swim up when you jump.”

Rhys shook his head. “That’s a lot of extra things for you to do, I couldn’t ask that!”

Jack smiled softly. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I would be happy to do it. It wouldn’t be that much extra work, but I want you to have fun.”

Rhys smiled, his stomach fluttering. He nodded. “Okay!”

Helping him up, Jack kept a hold of his hand. “It’s really beautiful up there!”

Laughing, Rhys nodded. “Yeah! I haven’t been up there in years though.”

They climbed their way up the path that had been worn into the rocks and ground from years of use. Jack chatted excitedly. “I’ve never had so much fun!”

“I’m glad! I love my home, almost all my favorite people are here.”

Jack eyed Rhys, smirking proudly. “I’m here.”

Feeling giddy and lighthearted, Rhys giggled. “Well, there ya go!” And as he said it, he realized that he meant it. When had that happened? When had Handsome Jack, his extremely powerful and rich boss become one of his favorite people?

Jack stopped. “Wait, really?” He stared at Rhys, waiting.

Rhys felt his cheeks heat and he nodded. “Yeah…”

Eyes sparkling, Jack’s chest puffed out and his grin widened to the largest Rhys had ever seen. Jack squeezed Rhys’ hand. “Good! You’re my second favorite person, after my daughter, of course!”

His heart fluttered and Rhys was in the middle of trying to figure out why when they reached the top. There was a small line and Jack bounced excitedly. Rhys however, felt knots begin to form in his stomach, it had been almost ten years since he’d last jumped off. He had grown up not jumping because of his arm, but the last time he’d tried it, he’d almost drowned. He’d been deposited too deep and he had barely been able to reach the surface. But for some reason, the promise of Jack being there and keeping him safe, gave him courage to try again.

It was Jack’s turn. He winked at Rhys. “Watch how a pro does it!”

He jumped before Rhys could tell him doing this twice didn’t make him a pro. Jack landed in his wolf form and paddled a little out of the way. It was closer than anybody else and Jack looked upward intently. It was Rhys’ turn. Taking in a deep breath, he took some steps back and then ran, his stomach dropping as he pushed off the rocks. He waited a couple beats, shifting just after passing the mark. His legs flailed outward a bit, but all in all, it was a good jump and splash. And he felt himself sinking further into the depth of the lake. He kicked furiously, only gaining a little momentum. His heart thudded in his chest, he wasn’t floating upward fast enough.

But then he caught movement and fur and swam towards it. He latched onto Jack, who’s strong legs propelled them to the surface quickly. They broke the surface in no time. Cheers from the other animals sounded and they splashed in celebration. A couple switched to their human form to cheer even louder.

Jack brought Rhys to the shallow and he jumped, shifting midway and landing on his back as a human. Jack had already shifted. “That was amazing, Jack!” Rhys laughed. He looked at his boss, smiling wide. “Thank you!”

“Not a problem, cupcake. I’m just glad you’re having fun.”

Rhys nodded. “I want to do that again, but I need to rest first.”

“Of course,” Jack smiled. One by one, the kids shifted to human form. “Hey! Come play waterball with us!”

“I’m going to rest here!” Rhys called. “But thank you!” He looked at Jack. “You should go and play, it really is a fun game and it would let them get to know you.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah! I’m going to soak in some sun,” Rhys said, shifting back as a serval and leaving the water. He flopped on the dry sand and rolled around, coating his fur with warm sand.

Jack laughed. “You’re adorable, kitten.”

Jack waded to the group and was given quick, concise rules before being launched into the game. Rhys watched them play and loved how easily they accepted Jack. He rested in the sun, the warmth saturating him wonderfully.

Jack was amazing with the children and Rhys realized that, of course he would be. He had a daughter. Jack launched for the ball, but then, when he learned that move was out of bounds, he jumped at the ref, knocking him under water. He pulled the kid back out just as quickly. The other kids started yelling, so Jack turned and went for them, causing delightful squeals to echo around them. Waterball was over and now they played with Jack, avoiding or attacking him. He fought valiantly, but he was no match for the amount of children that tackled him and drug him under the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


End file.
